USAID Announces Central Europe Program

USAID, with bipartisan Congressional support, is supporting new locally-driven initiatives in Central Europe with the goal of strengthening democratic institutions, civil society, and independent media, which are all pillars of resilient democratic societies. These programs will be implemented by a coalition of partners with deep knowledge of the region, experience in providing tailored support to local communities, and a commitment to internationally-recognized best practices to support democracy.

Local ownership is the key to the USAID programming in Central Europe, which was recently launched. USAID will work with local and diverse organizations, putting local stakeholders in charge of the process to identify needs, design and implement solutions, and monitor results.

In Central Europe, USAID is proud to support local partners in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia to:

• Increase the capacity of civil society to strengthen democratic principles and empower citizens to protect fundamental freedoms.
• Strengthen the competitiveness, financial independence, and sustainability of the independent media sector.
• Build the watchdog skills of civil society and media to enhance rule of law observance, combat corruption, and increase access to justice.
• Increase civic engagement through collective action of citizens to strengthen democratic systems.

The Biden-Harris Administration has made clear that bolstering democracy in the United States and around the world is essential to meeting the unprecedented challenges of our time. USAID activities in Central Europe are rooted in our shared democratic commitments to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, and adherence to the rule of law enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act and Charter of Paris for a New Europe, to which the U.S., Central European, and other countries committed as participating States of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

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