The Lisbon Treaty, Volcanoes, Floods and Civil Society: TRIALOG Central Training 2010

Despite having to tackle read natural challenges, such as the volcano eruption disrupting all air traffic in Europe or strong floods, “The Lisbon Treaty and Its Implications for Civil Society” was still discussed in Krakow during the TRIALOG Central Training, which took place on 7th and 8th of June. The training was done in cooperation with Grupa Zagranica, the Polish NGDO platform.

Although the group was not large (23 participants), the country representation was quite good and the discussions were focused, achieving the three-fold objectives of the Central Training: exchange and updates for the NMS platforms, planning for upcoming key events and training and knowledge gathering on a very specific topic.

Each platform was invited to be represented by the coordinator, board member and/or policy officer and had as a “homework” to present the situation in their respective countries based on a poster and a set of questions sent beforehand. While more detailed results will be presented in an upcoming report, the general feeling was that the financial sustainability remains a hot spot for most platforms, with very few having or being in a position to have a financial strategy. Many platforms focus on awareness raising and capacity building events, while there is a feeling that these might not be sufficient to guarantee member interests, and particularly to motivate members to stay financially committed to the platforms. The upcoming presidencies, the European Development Days remain moments of interest but also of concern, as it was reflected in the discussion with Marjan Huc (SL), Wojciech Tworkowski (PL) and Mara Simane (LV).
The thematic focus of this Central Training was the Lisbon Treaty and its implications for civil society. Elise Ford, the head of advocacy for Oxfam International skilfully introduced participants to the main changes that civil society organisations working on development cooperation need to pay attention with regards to the newly implemented Lisbon Treaty. Key figures, key structures and key opportunities and challenges for civil society were debated also in working groups, and what is clear is the still unclarity about quite a few aspects of the structures to be put in place.

Will the Lisbon Treaty provide an opportunity for civil society with its 1.000.000 signatures or is this a trap? Will the lobby work become harder with more figures who are harder to reach? Will there be an increased space for democracy through national parliaments receiving more responsibilities? What about the EU ‘embassies’? Many questions are raised, and there is a lot of space still open for discussion. The question remains whether NMS are ready and willing to embark on such discussions. Some of the action plans reflected such intentions, but still few, as the planning sessions towards the end of the two days went back to own plans, own strategies and needs from and input to TRIALOG.

Information provided by Andra Tanase, TRIALOG