Meeting of European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Multilingualism Jan Figel’ with representatives of Ukrainian civil society

On the 10 th of November 2005 the meeting of European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Multilingualism Jan Figel’ with representatives of Ukrainian civil society took place. The meeting, which was a roundtable, was hosted by the Delegation of the European Commission to Ukraine. Head of the Delegation Ian Boag and the Ambassador of Slovak Republic to Ukraine Urban Rusnak took part in the meeting. This was for the first time in the history of EU-Ukraine relationship that a member of the European Commission met representatives of Ukrainian civil society.

During this roundtable Ukrainian civil society was represented by NGOs, foundations, think tanks, academic institutions and media representatives (the list of participants is enclosed).

During the meeting Commissioner Jan Figel’ emphasised that the European Union is not limited to Common Market, but includes such areas as integral civil society. In particular, it is very important that all the societies of Europe are based on common values and common mentality. All new member states of the European Union went through profound transformation and their experience demonstrated that cultural and mental changes often require more time than political and even economic changes.

During the discussion the participants had an opportunity to share their assessment of changes that took place in Ukraine following the Orange revolution and advancement of EU-Ukraine relationship. In particular, it was mentioned that mental freedom (as absence of fear of authority), in particular, freedom of speech, are among the most fundamental achievements of the Orange Revolution. The participants of the meeting also touched upon certain challenges that are still to be met in Ukraine. For instance, representatives of civil society organizations mentioned the problem of disparity between expectations of people and capability of the public authorities to meet these expectations.

Overall, participants of the meeting recognized that the meeting was useful both in terms of understanding more about how the European Union and its institutions work and from the perspective of having an opportunity to bring concerns and communicate the needs of Ukrainian civil society to the level of the European Commission. Moreover, understanding that top officials from the European Union are open to dialogue with Ukrainian civil society is very inspiring.

According to participants of the meeting, civil society activism in Ukraine has been rapidly growing and it is necessary to reckon with its opinion. In particular, civil society organisations in Ukraine are involved into independent monitoring of the EU-Ukraine Action Plan implementation and making sure that domestic reforms are carried out in conformity with EU norms and values. Such meetings demonstrate recognition of this role of civil society and serve as a strong encouragement for NGOs.

The European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Multilingualism, J. Figel’, visited Ukraine from 10 to 11 November 2005 to give Ukrainian authorities and the Ukrainian public a positive signal about the possibilities of developing closer EU-Ukraine cooperation in the sphere of education and culture. In Kyiv, the Commissioner met with President Viktor Yushchenko, Oleg Rybachuk, Head of the Secretariat of the President of Ukraine, Borys Tarasyuk, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stanislav Nikolayenko, Minister of Education, I. Likhovyi, Minister of Culture and Oleksandr Omelchenko, Head of the Kyiv City Administration.

The Commissioner, whose portfolio also includes relations with civil society and youth, also addressed students from all over Ukraine at the Taras Shevchenko National University.

Participants of the roundtable:

	Yevhen Bystrytsky, Iryna Solonenko, Dmytro Shulga		International Renaissance Foundation
	Yevgeniy Babynin		NGO “Avionica”
	Andriy Kogut		All-Ukrainian Civil Organisation PORA
	Astrid Kohl		Academy of Ukrainian Press
	Olexandra Kuzhel		Analytical Centre “Academiya”
	Serhiy Kyselyov		National University “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy”
	Vira Nanivska		International Centre for Policy Study
	Svyatoslav Pavlyuk		Polish-American-Ukrainian Cooperation Initiative (PAUCI)
	Ihor Popov		Committee of Voters of Ukraine
	Oxana Shulyar		Institute of Euro-Atlantic Cooperation
	Maryna Sugak		Centre for Peace, Conversion and Foreign Policy of Ukraine
	Sergiy Taran		International Institute of Democracy