Beyond the EU

Since its inception, ECAS has been determined to develop the capacities of emerging CSOs in EU accession countries in Central and Eastern Europe by mobilising citizens and promoting models of cooperation between CSOs and governments. It also ran the IMPACT Office in Brussels between 2008 and 2012, which was geared towards building the capacities of Croatian CSOs in the framework of the country’s EU accession.

Presently, ECAS is using its expertise in participatory democracy and direct provision of services to citizens to help build high-performing and sustainable CSOs in the Western Balkans & Turkey. It does this by coordinating regional projects and providing technical assistance, but also by directly building the capacities of CSOs though tailor-made conferences, study visits and training.

From 2015, ECAS has decided to go a step further and use the experience and know-how gained in wider Europe to support the democratic transition and the development of civil society in the Southern Neighbourhood. ECAS has contributed to EC consultations on the Neighbourhood policy and is actively consulting local stakeholders in order to ensure, as always, that the real needs of citizens are being answered.

In the period 2015 – 2020 ECAS is working to:

• Support the development and implementation of National Advocacy Roadmaps in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Turkey.
• Campaign, together with partners, for a more enabling environment for civil society organisations, providing access to information, free legal advice and representation to citizens in all of the countries of the Western Balkans & Turkey.
• Carry out a stakeholders’ analysis, developing partnerships, and a Strategy to support civil society in the Southern Neighbourhood.
• Launch the Triple A pan-European network in 2016 as a platform of civil society organisations providing information, advice and free legal aid to citizens in wider Europe, focusing on quality standards, regional benchmarking, targeted advocacy actions and the exchange of best practices.

• Triple A Project
• Civil Society Dialogue Turkey Project