What are policies and measures taken by the EU to engage the peoples (general publics, interest groups, NGOs, political parties, social communities, etc), not the governments, of the Central and Eastern European Countries in their transition and accession periods? Any important literature and sources? Thanks a lot!
Three publications produced by the OSCE which provide normative sources in that respect are the Ljubljana Guidelines on Integration of Diverse Societies, The Lund Recommendations on the Effective Participation of National Minorities in Public Life, & The Hague Recommendations Regarding the Education Rights of National Minorities.
http://www.osce.org/hcnm/96883
http://www.osce.org/hcnm/32240
http://www.osce.org/hcnm/32180
Some of the information you are looking for is in my article "The Past, Present, and Future of EU Enlargement". For example, the EU - in cooperation with the candidate country governments - opened "Info Points" in many larger and smaller towns across the CEECs to provide easy access to information about European integration. The Commission also funded training for legal professionals and other interested private sector professionals across the CEECs, much of it in the context of PHARE. I don't have details about support for NGOs but, as one example, the EU did support the creation of European Communities Studies Associations (local ECSA groups) among academics and funded the creation of Jean Monnet Chairs for professors in law, political science, economics, and European history in the CEECs, as well as European Union Documentation Centers either at university or national libraries. I hope this will help...