The German parliament on Friday set aside an equivalent of $22 million for a Foreign Office-run program aimed at boosting civil society in Russia and Eastern Partnership countries, the regional cooperation coordinator said
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th November, 2019) The German parliament on Friday set aside an equivalent of $22 million for a Foreign Office-run program aimed at boosting civil society in Russia and Eastern Partnership countries, the regional cooperation coordinator said.The parliament passed a 362 billion euro ($398 billion) budget draft for 2020 earlier in the day, which will see a 1.1 percent rise in spending from last year, including an uptick in funds for the Eastern Partnership and Russia program.
"Twenty million euros for the Eastern Partnership and Russia program means twenty million euros for Europe's peaceful future. Be it Kharkiv or Chisinau, Minsk, Tbilisi or Yekaterinburg: dedicated civil society actors are the ones who promote a lasting partnership with Germany and Europe," Dirk Wiese said.
The German Foreign Office launched the program in 2014 with the stated goal of empowering civil society groups in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Russia. Since then, some 1,100 projects have been implemented to the tune of 77 million euros.
