The European Endowment for Democracy (EED) annual report

BRUSSELS - The European Endowment for Democracy (EED) 2023 annual report was launched at the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs.

In 2023, EED celebrated its tenth anniversary and reached the milestone of €200 million in grant support provided to independent media and civil society across the European Neighbourhood and beyond. In total, it has provided nearly 2,500 grants since 2013.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This Annual Report provides an overview of the work of the European Endowment for Democracy in the European Neighbourhood and beyond in 2023. The report tells the stories of civil society activists, organisations and independent media EED has supported over this past year and of others supported over the past decade.

EED’s slogan since its launch in 2013 has been to “support the unsupported.” EED supports those who believe in democratic futures for their countries and societies. It provides support that is demand-driven and flexible, and that constantly adapts to local and political realities. EED’s story over the past decade is the story of its partners, who are at the centre of this year’s annual report. In this special anniversary annual report, we have included the profiles of ten of EED’s partners, who are the faces of this 10th anniversary and who together represent the breadth and depth of EED’s grant-making across the countries and regions where it works.

A DECADE OF SUPPORT TO PRO-DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISM

This year’s report includes an article by Hardy Merriman, from the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, which reviews the past decade of pro-democracy activism and movements across the region of EED’s mandate. His research has found that civil society movements are one of the most powerful drivers of democratic change.

EED’S STRATEGIC ORIENTATION DOCUMENT

Included inside is a summary of the “EED Strategic Direction 2013-2023” document by Jerzy Pomianowski, EED’s Executive Director, which sets out EED’s strategic choices and priorities for the next decade. This document was developed by the EED Board of Governors and its Chair, David McAllister MEP.

ONE STRUGGLE FOR DEMOCRACY, MANY CONTEXTS

2023 was a year marked by war and natural catastrophe on a massive scale, as has not been experienced in recent decades. Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine continued into its second year, with at least 10,000 civilians killed and nearly 19,000 injured since February 2022 (in un-occupied areas of Ukraine), and 10 million people fleeing their homes, including 6.4 million who have sought refuge outside Ukraine.1 In February, tens of thousands of people were killed by a massive earthquake in Syria and Turkey. In September, thousands were killed in an earthquake in the west of Morocco. A week later, at least 20,000 people were killed when dams collapsed in Derna in Libya and a quarter of the city was destroyed. Following the September military assault by Azerbaijan on Nagorno-Karabakh, 100,000 Armenians fled the enclave.

he Israeli-Palestinian conflict escalated dramatically during the year, with the 7 October Hamas-led terrorist attack on south Israel. Israel’s subsequent air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip killed more than 20,000 Palestinians by the end of December 2023, the majority of these women and children. Approximately 85 per cent of Gaza’s population of 2.23 million are estimated to be internally displaced.

Military conflicts also rumble on in other regions of EED’s operations, including Syria, Libya, Sudan, the Sahel and Yemen. Even in the more peaceful regions, democracy is under increasing threat, with creeping authoritarianism evident in many contexts.

Yet EED’s work with thousands of partners over the past years demonstrates that popular demand for democracy remains strong, as people seek to live in more open societies where they can have a greater say in their local government and improve their lives. Ten years on from its establishment, EED’s flexible operating model remains highly relevant, enabling EED to support democracy partners in open and more closed environments, as well as in conflict environments, where many other donors struggle to operate.

AREAS OF SUPPORT

Initiatives supported by EED can be broadly categorised into anti-corruption and public accountability; independent and social media platforms; civic activism and participation; human rights activism and monitoring; women’s civic and political participation; inclusive society, sexual orientation and gender identity; arts and culture; and youth.

The central part of this report is structured around these thematic areas and contains the stories of a selection of EED’s partners who are working to build and support democracy in their countries and regions. These include, among others, a minority media in Serbia; a youth group refurbishing buildings and organising cultural activities breathing new life into Nazareth’s Old Town; an LGBT+ student organisation in Turkey; and a group building a culture of activism among youth in a small town in eastern Georgia.

ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM IN THE WESTERN BALKANS

Environmental challenges are particularly pressing in the Western Balkans, a region with some of the highest levels of pollution in Europe. A sub-section of this report features the stories of EED partners in the Western Balkans who are mobilising local citizens to fight against pollution and other environmental damage, giving rural communities an opportunity to play an active role in decision-making processes.

UKRAINIAN WOMEN LEADERS DURING RUSSIA’S FULL-SCALE INVASION

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, millions of women have mobilised across the country, joining volunteer movements to provide humanitarian relief, document the brutalities of war, or enlist in the Ukrainian defence forces. Women leaders, including many EED partners, are at the helm of civil society organisations and independent media outlets and are helping to drive Ukraine’s reform agenda, strengthen anti-corruption measures, and push for transparency and accountability in political processes.

Approximately 57 percent of grants awarded by EED in 2023 in Ukraine went to organisations led by women. This section of this report highlights their work and the central role they are determined to play in Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction.

To download the full report, visit: https://www.democracyendowment.eu/annualreport2023/EED_AR2023.pdf