European Civil Cooperation Conference formed to represent civil initiatives in EU

Representatives of NGOs from 15 countries founded the European Civil Cooperation Conference in Budapest on Thursday, with a view to better represent civil movements in the EU, Laszlo Csizmadia, founder of the pro-government Civil Union Forum (COF) and allied COKA foundation, which spearheaded the initiative, told public television. At the presser ahead of the founding conference, Csizmadia called for reforms in the EU. Civil organisations' voices must be heard and the sovereignty of nation states respected, he said.