The mandate of the European Union for democracy support stems from the Treaty of the European Union of 1992 and subsequent initiatives and frameworks.

The EU has carried out its democracy-assistance activities through a series of specific policies and programmes, and their attached instruments, targeting both institution-building and political reform.

This Policy Brief outlines the democracy-assistance work conducted within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy, and in particular the Eastern Partnership. It includes a number of policy recommendations which, if implemented, would help strengthen the coherence and effectiveness of the EU’s democracy-assistance programmes.