The Slovenian EU Council Presidency has launched a web portal for NGOs outlining and facilitating NGO interventions to the Slovenian Presidency.
The basis for NGO involvement in the Presidency is outlined in the Agreement between the Government communication office and web portal Predsedovanje.si which details the communications envisaged before and during the Slovenian presidency of the EU.
The agreement defines two ways of involving NGOs in the Presidency: information and consultation.
Intention of the information sharing is to notify NGOs about all activities and events, organised during the presidency and to pose questions about current affairs, connected with the presidency. The web portal has news and events calendar section. In the section Government a pdf List of contact persons for the presidency (ministries and other agencies) is published.
Consultation will allow NGOs to be interactively involved in the presidency with the help of E-participation tools. This was the reason for the creation of the forum Predsedovanje.si, where moderated e-discussions and e-consultations, systems of e-petitions, e-surveys and e-actions can be found.
EPHA welcomes this initiative. This portal offers good opportunities of exchange between the Slovenian Presidency and civil society. EPHA calls on the next Council Presidencies, notably the upcoming French Presidency, to provide the same kind of platform.
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