First Baltic civil society forum held in Riga

 

The purpose of this conference, organised by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), was to offer all stakeholders from civil society organisations from the three Baltic States an opportunity to analyse and exchange best practices with their counterparts from other EU member states. Speakers chosen from among the most prominent civil society organisations explored avenues for enhancing civil society participation in the decision-making process in the Baltic countries. “Civil dialogue above all!” – was a main conclusion of the conference.

The conference was opened by Mrs Iveta Purne, Minister of Welfare of Latvia. She mentioned that “the Latvian Tripartite Council has achieved a lot of important work during the last years”. In his opening speech Mr Vitalijs Gavrilovs, President of the Employers’ Confederation of Latvia (LDDK) stressed that “every citizen of Latvia should feel that they can improve the situation in their country”. Mr Dimitris Dimitriadis, President of the EESC, insisted on “the importance of active civil society involvement in democratic structures” and called for the future continuation of the forum.

The first of the three panel discussions focused on the Baltic business landscape – its evolutions and perspectives within the EU and with neighbouring countries, Mrs Brenda King (UK, Employers’ Group), President of the EESC’s SOC Section, chaired the discussion. The second panel discussion, devoted to flexicurity and social protection in the Baltic Countries, was chaired by EESC member Thomas Janson (SE, Employees’ Group). During the last panel discussion the participants, under the chairmanship of Mr Kaul Nurm (EE, Various Interests Group), EESC member, discussed the role and nature of civil dialogue in the Baltic Countries.

In a final declaration, the participants welcomed the good process initiated by the Baltic countries’ authorities in order to elaborate a full-fledged civil dialogue framework. Efficient civil society organisations, that meet the essential criteria of qualitative and quantitative representativeness, are essential for breathing life into the participatory element of a modern democracy, concluded the participants.

Whilst noting that the implementation of European economic and social policy – encompassed in the framework of the Lisbon strategy, proceeds smoothly, they nevertheless argued that the authorities should adopt more measure to encourage and facilitate further participation in the decision-making process. This would directly contribute to a more favourable environment for all stakeholders: a business-friendly legal framework compatible with workers’ rights and a strong commitment from non-profit organisations.

The participants recommended that relations and contacts between organisations within all EU Member States should be enhanced and strengthened. Further, the authorities should step up their efforts to increase their support for organised civil dialogue. Participants agreed also that all stakeholders should maintain and increase their efforts in strengthening cross-border cooperation in a multicultural environment. They should also address the outstanding issues of ensuring more effective and autonomous civil dialogue.

Further information on the event as well as a copy of the final declaration will be soon available on the EESC’s website: www.eesc.europa.eu