January 24, 2008: EU budget - What role for NGOs? Brussels

The EU Civil Society Contact Group (CSCG) is inviting to the CSCG conference "Building a value based EU budget for the future - What role for NGOs?" to take place on January 24 2008 in Brussels.

European values and policy priorities need to be better reflected in the EU budget. The EU budget for a long time has been the result of negotiations between national interests. It is time for the EU budget to become a real European budget. The ongoing EU Budget review (a consultation is running until April 15 2008) is meant to generate debate about the vision for the EU and how it relates to the budget.

The EU Civil Society Contact Group’s conference on January 24 wants to stimulate the debate among NGOs by asking
- Which priorities for the EU and how to reflect them in the EU budget?
- How can NGOs work in solidarity to influence the future EU Budget?

In the morning session NGOs will have the opportunity to learn more about the EU budget (priorities, management, resources, consultation) and how NGOs can engage in budget work. Please note that the number of participants for the morning session is limited to 25. Please register quickly. The afternoon conference offers a framework for broader political discussions.

Turn to the following website to download the programme and registration form as well as a briefing on the EU budget review consultation:
http://www.act4europe.org/code/en/actions.asp?id_events=125
Please register before January 15, 2008.

For further questions please contact CSCG coordinator Regula Heggli at: coordinator@act4europe.org

The EU Civil Society Contact Group (CSCG) brings together eight large European NGO platforms in the following fields: culture (EFAH), development (CONCORD), environment (Green 10), human rights (HRDN), lifelong learning (EUCIS), public health (EPHA), social (Social Platform) and women (EWL). Together they work to develop the dialogue between civil society organisations and the EU institutions as an essential part of strengthening participatory democracy.