Hi, Diana. Good article, and an interesting international comparison (contrast) of two different countries and their EITI experiences. I would be interested to hear any observations you may have regarding the EITI in Europe, a continent that seems to get missed a lot in GOXI discussions in general - perhaps the onus is on Europeans such as myself to blog more on GOXI about our own environs and do something about it :-). Thanks, daniel

Thank you for your interest and read of my blog Daniel.

While, the environment in countries such as Iraq, Tunisia and Yemen is proving to be challenging when it comes to civil society properly engaging in implementing the EITI and playing a proactive role in using the data provided by the reports to hold their governments accountable (which is the ultimate role of the EITI reports), the situations is quite different for civil society in European countries trying to implement the EITI. My humble opinion is that with the northern civil society coalitions/members present in the UK , France, Netherlands,..etc) the challenge is not in functioning collectively within a conducive environment, but rather in making the whole EITI process meaningful. European civil society's greatest challenge is to show the government/ companies HOW the data that will be issued in their EITI reports will be used to enhance sustainable development in developed countries such as the European ones. The million dollar question that will be asked in 2016 is: " How does all this data whether its from the EITI or the mandatory disclosure help you improve your life, or reduce corruption nationally and worldwide?"

What I find particularly remarkable about the European civil society is that it is NOW making a conscious effort to join their national campaigns under a more regional approach to face the above challenges.

As you said Daniel, I find it a pity that not a lot of blogs are being published by civil society members to portray their part in the EITI process. 

Hi, Diana

Yes, you are right.  The challenge is making the EITI process meaningful in countries such as those of the European Union (EU).  Relevance and meaning of EITI as a process was not an issue that I encountered when in Malawi last Autumn, it just came with the territory - NGOs were instinctively aware and well informed of the issues, challenges (note least of implementation) and importance of extractives transparency.  Only now are EU countries waking up to these issues, as you say.  My experience of EITI in the UK is not encouraging - fractious is a word that comes to mind to describe the whole thing, I am afraid.  Hopefully things will get better.  But without that common core understanding about what the whole thing is FOR and some willingness to rub along despite disagreements I fear that progress will be very difficult.

As I have said elsewhere, it is not about the UK teaching the world (despite the initiative being launched in our capital city) but us learning from countries far more experienced in these things than us, e.g. Iraq.

All the Best, Daniel