Vice Prime-Minister of Ukraine for European integration Ms. Ivanna Klympush-Tsyntsadze opened the meeting of the Steering Committee, which was held under the chairmanship of Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Sergiy Kyslytsya and Director of the Office of Directorate General of Programmes of the Council of Europe Verena Taylor.

About 60 participants took part in the event, majority of whom represented Ukrainian state bodies involved in implementation of the Action Plan.

Vice Prime-Minister of Ukraine expressed gratitude to the Council of Europe for its stand in support of Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. She also thanked the representatives of the organization for its assistance and support of the ambitious process of democratic reforms in Ukraine.

Vice Prime-Minister of Ukraine underlined the importance of the Action Plan as an effective instrument for assistance in implementation of these reforms. Special attention was paid to the fact that the programmes of the Action Plan are in line with the objectives contained in the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement.

Further, the participants of the meeting discussed the state of implementation of specific section of the Action Plan: Constitutional reform and Functioning of Democratic Institutions; Reform of the Judiciary; Human Rights; Democratic Governance; Economic Crime.

In general, participants of the meeting positively assessed current situation related to implementation of the Action Plan and agreed on further strategic directions of cooperation between Ukraine and the Council of Europe. The representatives of the Ukrainian states bodies emphasized that cooperation with the Council of Europe has already helped to achieve significant results in the main areas of democratic development of the country.

The importance of the expert assessments, recommendations and proposals of the Council of Europe concerning national legislation and draft laws were particularly emphasized during the meeting. In light of the latest domestic developments in Ukraine, special mention was given to contribution of the Council of Europe to the process of constitutional and judiciary reforms.

 During an exchange of views, its participants discussed achievements and shortcomings in implementation of the Action Plan. The actual needs that must be considered in the course of future project activities were also subjects of discussion. Separate attention was paid to the contribution of the CoE to development of the National Human Rights Strategy and the Action Plan aimed at its realization as well as the monitoring of the implementation of these strategic documents by the organization.  

The participants of the meeting agreed on successful nature of cooperation in framework of the Action Plan and reaffirmed their intention to make further efforts aimed at effective implementation of this document, which should promote real achievements in the process of national reforms.