Georgian National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum

On May 7, 2009, the European Union proposed a new form of cooperation, the Eastern Partnership, to six Eastern European countries – Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine. The goals of the new EU initiative are: to promote democracy and effective governance, social and economic development, sectoral reforms, environmental protection, strengthen the energy sector, and encourage people-to-people contacts.

The Eastern Partnership supports the European integration of six Eastern European countries. The Eastern Partnership's activities focus on multilateral (the European Union – six Eastern European countries) and bilateral relations (the European Union – individual countries participating in the partnership).
The Eastern Partnership includes four thematic platforms and several special initiatives.

In its Communication of 3 December 2008 (com (2008) 823), the European Commission stressed the need for active participation of civil society in the Eastern Partnership.

RICDOG has been a member of the network since 2016 and is actively involved in the work of the first, third, fourth and fifth working groups. 

At this stage, the chairman of the organization, Nugzar Kokhreidze, is the deputy chairman of the platform and co-coordinator of the third working group (environmental protection, climate change, and energy security). Prior to that, he was the coordinator of the fifth working group (social dialogue, labor rights) for 2 years. 

A national platform is being established in each country to coordinate the Civil Society Forum. The national platform should facilitate cooperation within the framework of both the multilateral (EU – the countries participating in the partnership and the relations between these countries themselves) and the bilateral (EU – Georgia) dimensions of the Eastern Partnership.

The National Platform is comprised of local non-governmental organizations registered in Georgia and international non-governmental organizations operating in partner countries, including professional associations.

The functions of the national platform are:

1) Facilitating the implementation of the Eastern Partnership thematic platforms and flagship initiatives in Georgia;
2) Representing the interests of Georgian civil society at the Civil Society Forum and facilitating the activities of the Forum.