In 1996, the European Parliament launched a particular budget line B-7050 for the MEDA Democracy Programme, an instrument intended to promote the rule of law, human rights and democracy and to strengthen civil society within the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership.
The MEDA Democracy Programme forms part of The European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights which was launched by the European Parliament in 1994 to bring a series of budget headings specifically dealing with the promotion of human rights together in a single chapter (B7-70).
As a regional civil society network devoted to the promotion and protection of human rights in the Euro-Mediterranean region, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) has followed the development of the MEDA Democracy Programme since it was first established.
The EMHRN shares the concerns and recommendations of ten Brussels based NGOs regarding policy, financing and management of the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights, published on 29 November 1999 on the occasion of the EU Human Rights Discussion Forum. It also shares the concerns voiced by participants at the Human Rights Discussion Forum on the occasion of the publication of the first annual report on human rights by the EU.