Ansamed

(ANSAmed) - BRUSSELS, NOVEMBER 22 - The Eu Commission is launching a new three-year joint programme with the Anna Lindh Foundation to run concurrently with the present EU-Anna Lindh operational mandate.

This new programme is going to be managed by the Foundation, aimed at mobilising and revitalising civil societies in the southern Mediterranean countries and improving their capacity for participating in democratic transitions. Stefan Fule, EU Commissioner for the Neighbourhood Policy, made the announcement at a high level meeting today in Brussels of over 100 participants, organised to take stock of the Foundation's activities and strategies and to discuss new orientations. The Eu Commissioner stressed the need for more cooperation with partners engaged in responding to evolving needs in the wake of the Arab uprisings. ''As the European Union faces up to the new political realities in the region - Fule said - we need partners such as the Foundation now more than ever, as we attempt to help the evolving and transforming societies in their legitimate struggles for reform and democracy. Our objectives for the region are similar to those of the Foundation.

''This new programme is extra, and complementary - the Eu Commissioner explained - added to the triennial work programme, for the period 2012-2014 and, in the first instance, will concentrate on initiatives in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. This may also, over the course of the programme, be extended to other countries in the region''. Among the new programme's objectives are activities - such as training and regional exchange exercises - that aim to assist civil society actors to participate in the construction of new and more democratic societies. The initiative, due to start in early 2012, will have a particular focus on the media, culture and education sectors.

(ANSAmed)