Comprehension and Discussion Questions. 1. What is a positive function of the European Union?
1. What is a positive function of the European Union?
2. When was the European Union set up?
3. How many countries are there in the European Union?
4. What are the principles that the EU is based on?
5. Is it a new state or an integration of some countries?
6. In what way do the EU countries make their decisions?
Text III. EUROPEAN INITIATIVE FOR DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Founded on the principles of freedom, democracy and the respect of Human Rights, the European Union is defending these principles – protecting Human Rights, consolidating democracy and the rule of law, as well as fighting poverty – the promotion and protection of which are among its fundamental objectives.
Beyond the Community’s foreign aid programmes and the resources of the European Development Fund, the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) offers the Union a legal framework and significant resources to provide targeted aid and to act in situ, on its own initiative and without prior agreement.
What is the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights? The EIDNR serves to bolster the EU’s other action in the field of human rights and democratization. Compared with other Community instruments EDF (European Development Fund), Tacis (Technical Assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States), ALA (American Latvian Association), MEDA (Mediterranean and Middle East policy), it:
§ is complementary to these programmes which are undertaken with governments in that it can be implemented with various partners, in particular NGOs (Non-Governmental Organization) and international organizations;
§ represents a type of “venture capital fund” for Human Rights, allowing initiatives to be launched at a pilot or experimental level, which can then be picked up by governments on a large scale;
§ can be used without host governments consent or where mainline Community programmes are not available;
§ Constitutes an essential complement to the EU’s foreign policy and common security objectives in the fields of human rights, democratization and conflict prevention. In certain regions it represents the sole legal basis for certain activities (political and civil rights protection, election monitoring, conflict resolution initiatives, etc.).
For its beneficiaries, EIDNR provides an added value which sets it apart from other donors. Because it is identified with the European Union, it is seen as reflecting and promoting the EU’s democratic values. In this way, the EIDHR is considered to emanate from Europe as a whole, rather than from specific interests or traditions.
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Because it enjoys the political support of the EU, EIDHR subsidies can, in certain cases, help protect vulnerable civil society organizations.
Because the EU is an organization committed to regional integration and given the existence of agreements between the Union and regional groupings, the EIDHR can also facilitate the adoption of Human Rights and democratization initiatives on a regional basis.
Text IV. Political and Economic Relations
The region is of key importance to the EU. With the EU enlargement process eastwards, the EU and Eastern Europe will share a common border, requiring joint approaches to many issues that directly affect the EU. The partner countries are also important trading partners and energy suppliers.
Since the beginning of the 1990s, the relationship with the partner countries has become broader. The political dialogue has been formalized through the Partnership and Co-operation Agreements (PCAs), now in force with nine of the thirteen countries. A PCA is a legal framework setting out the political, economic and trade relationship between the EU and the partner country concerned. The implementation of the PCAs is carried out through specific institutions on ministerial, senior official and working level. For each of the PCAs, specific priorities and targets have been set, based on the overall objectives of consolidation of democracy and human rights, development of close political and economic relations, transition towards market economy and social, financial and cultural co-operation. As a stepping stone to full agreements, trade and co-operation agreements are still in force with some of the partner countries.
Vocabulary notes
poverty -бедность
objective –цель
targeted aid –плановая помощь
to bolster –поддерживать
complementary –дополнительный
to undertake –предпринимать
host government – местное правительство
vulnerable –уязвимый
to affect –оказывать влияние
implementation –выполнение
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