Political parties are one of the key formats of citizens’ organising for political participation and representation, political party support as such is identified to be amongst crucial elements of Democracy Promotion in Partner Country Cooperation Programs of the EU.During the last few decades, EU institutions have developed numerous documents and guidelines on the effective promotion of human rights in third countries. Still, clear policies and guidelines for political party cooperation as part of effective democracy promotion remain underdeveloped. Although not excluded, the issue is rather minimised, due to the sensitivity and nature of the topic.

Despite this, EU engagement in political party cooperation offers ample opportunities for promoting constructive partnerships in the areas of peace and security, climate change and disaster prevention, the management of migration, as well as other thematic fields. Political parties are key channels through which future leaders develop both public policies, as well as original ideas. It is also important to mention that several EU member states (e.g. Sweden, Finland, The Netherlands, Germany) have also a long-standing tradition and experience of engaging in political party cooperation.

The European Network of Political Foundations (ENoP) serves as an umbrella network and information hub on topics related to democracy and development cooperation and provides its members a joint platform to engage into a coordinated dialogue with EU institutions, CSOs and other relevant stakeholders. Therefore, ENoP is organising the first Democracy Dialogue with Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen on the topic of Political Party Cooperation, with the following objectives:

• Understanding the EU’s Vision and Strategy for engaging with political parties
• Discussion on the Implications (challenges and advantages/opportunities) of a higher EU profile in political party support
• How to improve EU Donor/Implementer Coordination on PP cooperation on the ground?