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Parliament amends new European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights
19 09 2006
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Edward McMillan-Scott (Cons/UK) and Helene Flautre (Greens/France) have been appointed joint rapporteurs by the European Parliament for the long-awaited European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) for the period 2007-2013.
The rapporteurs are calling for:
- A sharper focus on implementation, especially through civil society, including those organisations that are not legally registered
- An instrument that is capable of adjusting to the changing priorities within the 2007-2013 perspective including new means of delivery
- An emphasis on the parliamentary dimension, not only in terms of a parliamentary oversight but also a focus on developing parliamentary democracy in Third countries.
Timeline
The late arrival of the draft regulation has resulted in a tight schedule for adoption by both the European Parliament and the Council if the EIDHR is to be operational from 1 January 2007.
The European Parliament created the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) in 1992 but this formally ends in December 2006. Originally the Commission had proposed to mainstream democracy and human rights in a series of other external financing instruments (Development, Neighbourhood, Pre-Accession and Stability) but MEPs insisted on a separate instrument, which preserves the unique characteristic of the EIDHR - programmes financed under the €140 million programme do not require host government consent. The deadline for amendments to the regulation is Wednesday 20 September at 1800.
The report will be adopted in AFET on Tuesday 10 October
The report will be adopted in Plenary in November
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