In the framework of the EU program, ESTIMA is committed to improving the governance and implementation of the connectivity agenda in terms of transparency, accountability, efficiency and impact. We have been working on identifying the main shortcomings and providing recommendations for various stakeholders. One of the key pillars of our recommendations is based on strengthened involvement of civil society as a partner of national institutions in the implementation of large infrastructure projects, in order to strengthen the “integrity compliance”.

In the course of this endeavour, we cooperated with several like-minded CSOs from the Western Balkan (WB) region, namely the Cooperation and Development Institute from Albania as the founder and organizer of the Tirana Connectivity Forum, a unique gathering of events devoted to the Connectivity Agenda. Together we organized the submission of an open letter to the EU institutions where we advocate for CSO’s involvement in the European Economic and Investment Plan for the WB as the key instrument for funding large infrastructure projects in the 2021-2027 programming period. We have also co-authored two related op-eds in renowned EU-level outlets – Euractive and EU Observer and spoke on behalf of the WB CSOs to advocate for their meaningful inclusion in the formal EU-sponsored connectivity fora at the Civil Society and Think Tank Forum organized in June 2021 in the framework of the Berlin Process and in the last Tirana Connectivity Forum in October 2021.

For more information, please contact us.