Expectations from the new European Commission – continuing to promote the respect of human rights | Political academy of Croatian People's Party

Expectations from the new European Commission – continuing to promote the respect of human rights

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keti enop web Zagreb, February 25, 2015 – On February 19, 2015 in Brussels, the European Network of Political Foundations (ENoP) organized a thematic seminar and training on the topic of „What is new and what to expect from the new European Commission?". The event was organized for members of ENoP, amongst which is the International Educational Centre with the Political Academy of HNS.

The goal of the seminar was for participants to get acquainted with the programme of the Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO) in order to gain insight into priorities, the structure and the work of the European Commission in its new term.

During the first part of the seminar, members of ENoP exchanged their views on the priorities that are a part of the programme of the European Commission for 2015, while concluding that an emphasis has been given to growth, development and creating new jobs. For ENoP, priorities 8, 9 and 10 are of particular importance as they deal with the new migration policy, a new approach to the EU's external action as well as improving democratic processes within the EU.

The seminar also examined the new structure of the European Commission in which commissioners are expected to work as part of project teams. It was highlighted that the new structure of the Commission was met with mixed reactions in the European Parliament, while it is still doubtful that the new structure will improve its efficiency.

For the second part of the seminar, participants were joined by Mr. Bernard San Emeterio Cordero and Mrs. Salima Chitalia, representatives of DG DEVCO. They presented their DG's position and programme within the new structure of the Commission, while emphasizing that growth and development is one of the main priorities of their Directorate-General, while stronger external action a priority of particular importance for the Juncker Commission as a whole. Such choice of priorities means that the EU will strive to take on a more prominent role as a global actor, work to achieve common goals of sustainable development, improve its migration policy (encourage legal and prevent illegal migration) and strengthen the cooperation with third countries and the neighbourhood especially as no new enlargement is planned during this Commission's term. In addition to these priorities, during the term of Commissioner Mimica, DG DEVCO will continue to take great care to promote the respect of human rights on the global level.

During the final part of the seminar, the participants discussed and concluded that they gained invaluable information that will be used to determine common positions and plan future activities of ENoP.

International Educational Centre was represented by Katarina Ormuž, research assistant.