As the national programmes for the European Year (EY) 2010 were due to be submitted by mid May 2009, and the European Commission has started its first assessment of them, the aim of the meeting was firstly to exchange on the state of play of preparation within the NGOs and secondly to ensure the NGO engagement with the plans for the EY 2010 at European and national level. Additionally, political requests for the Year and common activities were discussed. Participants met also with the representatives of the European Commission Task Force for 2010, Mrs. Anne Degrand-Guillaud and Ms. Elodie Fazi. During the roundtable discussion, there was an active exchange between NGOs and the European Commission. Representatives of different national NGOs addressed a number of crucial issues, such as funding possibilities under the National Action Plans for the EY 2010,.  The main concerns and questions, to which Ms. Fazi from the Commission Task Force will respond within the following weeks, were as follows:

• questions regarding the calls for proposals: approximate dates of publishing and funding possibilities
• difficulties of NGOs at the national level to contact their NIBs (updates on the contacts list)
• practical concerns, e.g. regarding the use of the EY2010 logo at the national and European levels
• questions regarding the development of the political declaration on the EY 2010.
• transparency: cooperation with NIBs - ways of organizing the process and involving the networks.

Additionally, representatives of the 2010 Task Force presented the main points on how the European and national campaigns will be organized and managed. They have selected the communications agency, MOSTRA, to work with NGOs at the national level towards the development of publicity projects and for the EY2010.

As a follow-up to the meeting, based on the information given by the NGOs and their member organizations, a common calendar of all the national and European activities within the EY2010 will be prepared. The draft of the Political Message from the NGO contact group to the European Commission will be ready by September in order to finalize it for the Opening Conference of EY 2010. The next meeting of NGOs contact group will be held on 14.09.09.