Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the EU support for democratic governance, with a focus on the governance initiative

The Council Conclusions of 18 May 2009 'Support to Democratic Governance - towards an enhanced EU framework' requested the European Commission to provide 'a comprehensive report on the implementation of the October 2006 Council Conclusions, focusing on the EU support to democratic governance, managed by the Commission in all regions, including the Governance Initiative and the Governance Facility'.

Democratic governance is supported through geographic instruments such as the European Development Fund, the Development Cooperation Instrument and the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument as well as thematic programmes financed by the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights and the Instrument for Stability. In addition to the programme-based approach, democratic governance is also supported through specific interventions in key governance areas and through the mainstreaming of governance in other areas of cooperation.

This Report presents some key policy documents relevant to governance, and takes stock of the Governance Initiative (GI) for the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries and the Governance Facility for countries covered by the European Neighbourhood Policy. It then draws lessons from the implementation of the geographical and thematic instruments through which the EU supports democratic governance. This report does not cover assistance to the countries in the enlargement zone, where even stronger emphasis is put on good governance as part of the political accession criteria.

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)403: Follow the progress of this report through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:403:FIN

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