The EU-Ukraine Civil Society Platform has been set up by a constituent meeting in Kyiv on Nov. 7.
“Today, we are practically the first to start institutionalization of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement,” Director of the Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation (IEAC) Oleksandr Sushko said at the constituent meeting.
According to him, the platform consists of members of Ukraine’s civil society on the one hand, and of members of European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), as an EU-authorized agency, on the other.
The civil society platform is intended for holding sittings and exchange of ideas in different areas of civil society life.
The platform engages 170 Ukrainian NGOs representing the whole spectrum of civil society in the country. They elect coordinators for 15 working groups to cover the following topics: EU-Ukraine political dialogue and foreign policy; democratic reforms; human rights; fighting corruption and fraud; migration policy; non-tariff, tariff, and technical regulatory measures; trade in services; industrial, scientific and technical cooperation; environment; energy and transportation; employment and social policy; education and training; cross-border and interregional cooperation.
“I hope the platform will allow not only monitoring government’s actions but also promoting Ukraine’s image and its popularization in the EU,” Deputy Foreign Minister on European Integration Olena Zerkal said.
The platform’s creation is foreseen by Articles 469 and 470 of the Association Agreement.
