Civil society in the EU's eastern neighbours plays key role in democratisation

A summit of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum was held in Brussels from 2 to 4 December 2025, with the opening session and presentation of the Civil Society Awards taking place at the Belgian Senate. Via this forum, we support civil society in the EU's eastern neighbours: Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Belarus. Our FPS jointly organised the forum.

The EU's eastern neighbours are crucial to the security and prosperity of the EU as a whole. That is why the EU set up an 'Eastern Partnership' (EaP) with the 6 neighbours: Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The aim is to promote cooperation among governments, regions, civil society, businesses, universities, and individuals. Belarus suspended its official participation in the partnership in 2021.
 

Defender of democratic values

Under the influence of Russia and the large-scale invasion of Ukraine, the entire region is currently under significant pressure. Besides Ukraine, Russia also occupies parts of Moldova and Georgia. Moreover, it is intensifying its hybrid attacks (disinformation, cyberattacks, etc.).

In a context like this, civil society plays a role that must not be underestimated. Indeed, it acts as a defender of democratic values and resilience on the part of society. It also informs political debate and holds governments accountable. In this way, it helps ensure that reforms are actually implemented, despite increasing political and security repression.

The nature of the relations between the eastern neighbours and the EU varies. For example, candidate member states Ukraine and Moldova are pushing ahead with reforms despite the many challenges. Armenia is gradually turning more toward the EU, while Georgia is also a candidate country. Nevertheless, the accession process there has been suspended owing to problematic trends in the area of democracy and the rule of law, and intense anti-EU rhetoric from the government. Civil liberties are under severe pressure in Belarus, and there are also significant challenges in Azerbaijan. In all these situations, civil society has a role to play.
 

A summit in the Belgian Senate

Precisely in order to bolster civil society among our eastern neighbours, the EU and Belgium support the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum. With its 1,200 organisations, it has been an important platform for strengthening democratic transformation and European integration in Eastern Europe since 2009.

The annual EaP Civil Society Summit was held in Brussels this year. The opening event and presentation of the Civil Society Awards took place at the Belgian Senate. The summit brought together more than 250 representatives from civil society and policymakers from the EU and the Eastern Neighbourhood.

The aim was to exchange ideas and experiences around democratic governance, protecting the civic space, countering disinformation and addressing hybrid threats. The participants also explored ways for the eastern neighbours to better align with European strategies. Innovative ways of cross-border cooperation and mobilising resources were also on the agenda.

2 awards presented to exemplars of the vital role

The Civil Society Award was presented to 2 winners - in the presence of EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, President of the Senate Vincent Blondel and Director General for European Affairs of our FPS, Christophe de Nijs (see box). The award recognises civic organisations that go the extra mile toward creating a more democratic society.

With the summit and the award ceremony, our country and our FPS gave a clear signal to our eastern neighbours that Belgium is an ally for advancing democratisation. By supporting civil society there, we are investing directly in reform, stability, and shared security.