On 17 January 2025, the Global Governance Institute’s Democracy and Human Rights Unit was invited by the European Parliament’s Parliamentary Support and Capacity-Building Unit to brief the representatives of the 27 national parliaments across the European Union on democracy support and capacity-building. The meeting took place in the context of the ‘network on democratic support with EU national parliaments (DSN)’, which invited GGI representatives to present the results of their in-depth study and policy advice project on how to strengthen democracy through parliamentary capacity-building in ten EU enlargement countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine). In his presentation, GGI’s Chair of the Board Joachim Koops, presented some best practices and successful examples of effective democracy support through parliamentary capacity-building, based on a review of more than 80 projects and based on 92 expert interviews with representatives of parliaments, international organisations and local democracy defenders.
The meeting provided an opportunity for an extensive follow-up discussion with representatives from the EU’s national parliaments on the core challenges Europe and the enlargement countries are currently facing in terms of democratic back-sliding, but also on how to advance more effective democracy-support initiatives through targeted and well-coordinated capacity-building. The meeting also reflected on the role of the European Parliament as an important actor, coordinator and knowledge hub for parliamentary capacity-building and generated an exchange on how to strengthen a more coordinated approach amongst the various parliaments, international organisations and civil society actors involved in democracy support.
The full report will also be presented at the next meeting of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) on 30 January 2025 (the livestream of the meeting can be followed here: https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/webstreaming?view=day&d=2025-01-30 ).
About the Project
The Global Governance Institute’s Democracy and Human Rights Unit is leading a policy and advice project for the European Parliament titled “Enhancing Democracy through Parliamentary Capacity-building in EU Accession Countries”. It focuses on how national parliaments in European Union accession countries can be strengthened to reinforce democracy across the ten countries hoping to join the EU in the future. Implemented in cooperation with Ecorys Poland, the project examines and assesses various tools and past efforts of EU member states, international organisations and NGOs in strengthening the administrative, procedural and political capacities of the national parliaments of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine. The main aim of the project is to advise the European Parliament’s Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group (DEG) as well as the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) on how to reinforce the European Parliament’s democracy and parliamentary capacity-building policies and approaches in the context of EU Enlargement. Drawing on an extensive comparative analysis of past and current parliamentary support programmes by EU member states’ parliaments, the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Inter-parliamentary Union (IPU), NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly as well as a wide range of international and local NGOs, the project will identify best practices and concrete examples of how to effectively strengthen and enhance the democratic functioning and impact of national parliaments in the accession countries. The project’s deliverables include an in-depth study based on more than 90 interviews with national and international experts, an extensive mapping exercise. The project will serve as an important foundation for the GGI Democracy and Human Rights Unit’s wider work on democratic resilience and capacity-building across the EU and wider global context.
