The Steering Committee of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum gathered in Brussels in 12-14.04.2023 to discuss key topics at stake for the region and civil society, and strategise on how to address them.
The meeting provided an excellent opportunity for Steering Committee members to exchange with EU stakeholders 🇪🇺 from the European External Action Service – EEAS and DG NEAR EU Neighbourhood & Enlargement and reiterate the importance of the European Union’s continued support to civil society, democracy and human rights across the Eastern Partnership region.
The Ukrainian National Platform EaP CSF was represented at the meeting by the National Coordinator Ruslan Gavrilyuk.
The key issues raised during the meeting with Dirk Schuebel, EU Special Envoy for Eastern Partnership, European External Action Service, were:
- the policy of the Eastern Partnership must be modernized taking into account previous mistakes that had not contributed to the prevention of Russian aggression, which leads to a pessimistic attitude towards it in Ukraine
- security should be included in the EaP policy. It should be based on the reality of a large-scale Russian war against Ukraine and the fact that the enemy is common to the entire region
- the policy of the Eastern Partnership should correspond to the European integration intentions of each participating country and at the same time create positive examples of EU membership that would inspire other countries in the region
- the civil society dimension of the Eastern Partnership policy, which is probably the most positive among the components of the policy, is the key to further positive transformations in the region.
Ruslan Gavrilyuk:
Almost 3.5 years after the last visit to the capital of the EU, a return to live meetings in Brussels. European integration issues, modernization and a more ambitious Eastern Partnership policy are on the agenda.
We use all opportunities to make the flag of Ukraine a full-fledged and permanent one in front of the building of the European Parliament.
Фото Фейсбук сторінка Руслана Гаврилюка та Dirk Schuebel
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