Overview

Canada's Commitment
Results
Profile of the Region

Canada's Commitment

The Europe Regional Program contributed to sustainable development in several countries of Central and Eastern Europe and central Asia.

Programming was done primarily in partnership with various regional, multilateral, and non-governmental organizations promoting peace and stability in the region through transboundary cooperation and support for a more democratic, sustainable, and integrated Europe.

Why a regional approach?
Unlike bilateral assistance programs in specific countries, the Europe Regional Program addressed development issues that cut across national boundaries. Programming themes included:

• Human rights
• Democratisation
• Combatting trafficking in human beings
• Freedom of movement and migration
• Private sector development

Using this regional approach and partnering with regional organizations, the Europe Regional Program supported programming in 20 countries: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

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Results

• Developed and strengthened partnerships between Canadian experts and regional representatives from Eastern Europe and central Asia through exchange initiatives
• Matched volunteer Canadian executive expertise with partners abroad by providing Canadian expertise to help small and medium-sized enterprises, transferred skills, and shared practical information and ideas
• Supported environmental sustainability by identifying transboundary environmental problems that posed security risks and offered challenges or opportunities for regional cooperation
• Addressed the issues around HIV/AIDS in Georgia, Russia, and Ukraine
• Helped improve the ability of partner organizations to become more effective in achieving development results, including the promotion of equality between men and women

CIDA's regional programming achieved concrete results and made Canada a trusted development partner in the region. The European Union, however, and its individual member states are assuming an ever-larger role in the region, while CIDA is concentrating its efforts within fewer countries. As a result, the Europe Regional Program is not beginning any new initiatives, and future programming in Europe will focus on Ukraine.

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Profile of the Region

After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Western countries sought to support the transition by Eastern bloc countries to market economies and democracy. The Eastern bloc covered Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltic states, Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia, and the South Caucasus, as well as some countries in central Asia. The Europe Regional Program was a component of Canada's support. Since then, the region has seen much progress, as can be seen in the transition to market economies and democratic governance, and in the sustainable economic growth.