The Ukrainian side of the EU-Ukraine Civil Society Platform welcomes the holding of the upcoming annual EU-Ukraine summit on February 3, 2023 in Kyiv.
In the conditions of war in 2023, the support of one of the key strategic partners – the European Union – is extremely important for Ukraine. An utterly important role of civil society in supporting the resistance to the armed aggression of the russian federation against Ukraine proved the ability of citizens and their organizations to take a full active part in the processes of protecting sovereignty and restoring territorial integrity.
The EU-Ukraine Civil Society Platform (CSP), along with relevant intergovernmental and interparliamentary institutions, is one of the bilateral bodies established under the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union. The key task of the Platform is to monitor the implementation of the Association Agreement on behalf of civil society, provide recommendations to the Association Council, and inform the public about the effectiveness and completeness of implementation of the Agreement.
Granting Ukraine the status of a candidate for joining the EU defines a new level of tasks and responsibilities regarding the terms and proper implementation of the provisions of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU and measures for their implementation.
The generally accepted approach of the European Union to the formation, implementation and evaluation of the results of the implementation of policies in most spheres of public life involves active and permanent involvement of organized civil society institutions. We are convinced that this is exactly the way Ukraine should go. This approach should also work at the next stage of Ukraine’s integration into the EU during the formation and implementation of the accession agreement. It is important that, along with the direct involvement of the public in the discussion and adoption of documents within the framework of Ukraine’s future membership in the EU, this cooperation should be permanent and have an institutional basis.
The Ukrainian side of the EU-Ukraine Civil Society Platform calls on the participants of the EU-Ukraine summit:
- to accelerate as much as possible the start of negotiations and drafting of the agreement on the accession of Ukraine to the EU, and to continue active implementation of sectoral reforms, together with work on the integration of Ukraine into the EU internal market;
- to initiate the transformation of the EU-Ukraine Civil Society Platform into a Joint Consultative Committee as soon as possible. Prior to the establishment of the Joint Consultative Committee – to involve the CSP members on a permanent basis into drafting of the agreement on the accession of Ukraine to the European Union;
- to intensify the interaction of the Association bodies with the CSP, including involvement of CSP representatives to participate in the activities of other bilateral bodies of the Association, the initiation of regular mechanisms for exchanging information on progress of implementation of the provisions of the CSP Joint Declarations;
- promote the implementation of the provisions of the communique of the European Commission dated May 18, 2022 “Ukraine Relief and Reconstruction”;
- to ensure transparency in the formation of post-war development projects of Ukraine, public participation in the development of these projects and public control over their implementation;
- to contribute to the strengthening and development of the capacity of the CSP as an institution for the implementation of the Association Agreement and the subsequent accession of Ukraine to the EU.