Public monitoring of implementation of the Regional European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Policy will be launched all over Eastern Ukraine

Public organizations and experts from a number of regions of Eastern Ukraine announced their intention to monitor the implementation of the European and Euro-Atlantic integration policy, and agreed to exchange information and experience, and coordinate activities of all “Euro monitoring” groups.

The first working meeting of the region monitoring groups from Eastern Ukraine took place in Vienna House in Kharkiv on February 4, 2007. Participants in the meeting were representatives of the organizations which implement projects on public monitoring of Regional European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Policies with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation, as well as representatives of the organizations which intend to carry out the similar monitoring in the regions where such activities were not commenced yet.

Public monitoring on the regional level means monitoring of the carrying out of the regional events aimed at implementation of the three State Programs approved by the President of Ukraine, No1433 of Dec 13, 2003 “On State Programs on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine for 2004-2007” as well as two Action Plans (Ukraine – EU Action Plan and Ukraine – NATO Target Plan). Recently, after adoption of the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No1819 of Dec 27, 2006, this list was supplemented with the Transborder Cooperation State Development Program 2007-2010, which aims at stimulation of the development of the existing and appearing of new “Euro regions” in Ukraine.

The purpose of the meeting, in which representative of public organizations and experts from Sumy, Poltava, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Saporizhya, Luhansk, and Donetsk regions took part, was to involve into the “Euro monitoring” processes those regions of the Eastern Ukraine where such monitoring has not been conducted yet (Sumy, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhya regions). Representatives from Kharkiv and Donetsk regions shared the acquired experience and problems, which NGOs might come across when carrying out monitoring.

Experts say the main problem that creates a so-called vicious circle is an indefinite final course towards European integration and even more indefinite course towards Euro-Atlantic integration in the meaning of joining the EU and NATO, which is caused by the absence of state funding of the activities in this sphere and correspondently low ability level of the local authorities to independently carry out necessary activities, and taking into consideration skeptical public opinion upon Euro integration matters and opinion of some state officials, all this causes practically complete inactivity or the imitation of activities.

Among possible ways of solving this problem experts name public explanations that European and Euro-Atlantic integration means the development of civilized relations with the neighbors and reaching European standards in different spheres of life but not just obtaining formal membership in the EU and NATO or any other organizations. Public organizations confirmed their readiness to cooperate with the state authorities, which could in their turn use NGOs’ resources. On the condition of transparent allocation of the budget money on a competitive basis, the problems, with which neither central nor local state authorities can cope, will be solved more effectively. The participants presented their results on public monitoring of implementation European and Euro-Atlantic integration policy, monitoring of mass media and monitoring of public opinion on Euro integration issues and discussed experience of work of consulting bodies on European integration attached to the central and local state authorities.

 You can find more information on this issue at www.europa.org.ua in the Chapter “Euro monitoring”

Source: Donbas European Public Coalition

			Olena Romanova, European Program Coordinator tel: +380 (44) 461 9500 | fax: +380 (44) 486 0166 email: romanova@irf.kiev.ua office: Kyiv, Bekhterevsky Lane, 13-a, room 5