Towards an Open, Fair, and Sustainable EU is a collaborative effort bringing together civil society from Poland, Denmark, and Cyprus, together with CONCORD Europe, to strengthen civil society’s role in shaping the EU’s global development policies. As the EU navigates an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape, including ongoing conflicts, climate crises, and growing inequalities, the initiative works to place civil society at the center of solutions, ensuring more inclusive, fair, and sustainable EU actions.
Towards an Open, Fair, and Sustainable EU will run from January 2025 to August 2026, spanning the EU presidencies of Poland, Denmark and Cyprus. The project is built around two core objectives: 1) To increase public and political awareness of the EU’s global role in fostering meaningful, inclusive, and sustainable international partnerships, as well as 2) to strengthen civil society’s capacity to engage with and influence decision-makers at both national and EU levels.
The aim is to create a stronger and more united approach to global development challenges. By engaging both civil society actors and policymakers, the project aims to ensure that decision-making on international partnerships upholds the principles of fairness, inclusion, and sustainability. The project focuses on four key areas to strengthen civil society’s role and address global inequalities:
Finance of the Future
The UN assesses that the finance gap is more than 5 billion pr. year to reach the Sustainable Development Goals. Meanwhile, the global financial system is highly unequal as it builds upon the extraction of resources from some countries to sustain living in other parts of the world. With the EU set to begin negotiations for its next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) during the project period, it will be an important milestone in advocating for the future shape of finance for international cooperation in the EU.
Global Climate Justice
The climate crisis will be a cross-cutting agenda throughout the period of the presidency project affecting policies at both national and EU levels as well as the engagement in international partnerships. EU member states, as historically high emitters, have a responsibility to address its disproportionate impact on vulnerable populations. The project focuses on raising awareness about global climate justice, advocating for fair and inclusive climate policies, and ensuring that human rights are central to the green transition.
Inclusive Partnerships
Globally there is a push for donor countries to “shift the power” towards international partners and aim for more transparency in partnerships. This initiative advocates for greater inclusion of global civil society in decision-making at both EU and national levels, emphasizing shared responsibility for sustainable development. The project aims to ensure that civil society has a meaningful role in shaping fair and inclusive policies and promote transparency and more balanced partnerships.
Civic Space as the Foundation
The involvement of people in decision-making is crucial for democratic, peaceful, and sustainable societies. This requires an enabling environment where civil society actors are invited to participate in decision-making processes and where the public is aware of their rights to do so. During the presidency project, the partners will work to enhance civic engagement and awareness to assure awareness of the rights for participation, capacity development, and striving for an enabling environment for participation.
About the partners
CONCORD Europe – CONCORD is the European platform for NGOs working on sustainable development and international cooperation. It comprises 57 member organizations representing over 2,600 NGOs and serves as the primary dialogue partner for EU institutions on sustainable development and international cooperation.
Grupa Zagranica (PL) – Grupa Zagranica is a platform for Polish NGOs working on international development cooperation, democracy support, humanitarian aid, and global education.
Global Focus (DK) – Global Focus is a unifying platform for civil society organizations based in Denmark, engaged in international development, peacebuilding, humanitarian efforts, and the green agenda.
CARDET (CY) – CARDET is an independent research and development organization focused on education, innovation, information technology, and social justice. Since Cyprus does not have a dedicated NGO platform, CARDET has been assigned the role of civil society representative for Cyprus.