2. 2
Coordination:
Elena Zhminko
Translation and editing:
Katarzyna Kowalczyk – English language
TexteM Biuro tłumaczeń
Translators:
Dorota Pawałowska, Maryja Łucewicz-Napałkow – Ukranian language
Giorgi Komoshvili – Georgian language
Ioan Polaczek – Romanian language
Editors:
dr Anna Konieczna-Purchała – Polish language
dr Bella Tateshvili – Georgian language
Laurentia Jadachowska – Romanian language
dr Svitlana Romaniuk – Ukranian language
Layout:
Kotbury.pl
Photos:
Beata Czarnecka
Copyright by Stowarzyszenie Szkoła Liderów
Reproduction and use for non-commercial purposes is permitted provided the source.
The opinions and information it contains do not necessarily reflect the position of
the School for Leaders.
The project is co-financed by the “Support for Democracy” Polish development cooperation programme of the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland and the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw with cooperation of European Dialogue
Society from Ukraine, Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy – Georgia Representation from Georgia,
National Youth Council of Moldova – CNTM from Republic of Moldova and Analytical Centre on Globalization and
Regional Cooperation (ACGRC) from Armenia.
ISBN 978–83–939043–2–7
Warsaw 2013
Stowarzyszenie Szkoła Liderów
Wiejska str. 12A, 00–490 Warsaw
Tel. 22 556 82 50
Faks 22 556 82 51
stowarzyszenie@szkola-liderow.pl
www.szkola-liderow.pl
3. 3
Dear Readers,
We pass into your hands this paper, which has come to being as a result of actions
taken as part of the first edition of the program School for Political Leaders of
Eastern Partnership Countries 2013.
For 17 years the School has, through education of leaders behind our eastern
border, supported democratic processes and the development of civic society in the
countries of the former Soviet Union. We focus particularly on the countries invited
by the European Union to participate in the East Partnership project – countries,
which used to be described in Europe as undergoing systemic transformation, but
which have now grown out of this notion. Some of them take steps towards integra-
tion with Europe while some – as it would seem – head in reverse direction.
The project embraced two sessions – in Ukraine (28th of June – 5th of July 2013)
and in Poland (22nd – 28th of September 2013). 24 leaders from Armenia, Azerbai-
jan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine attended workshops, training sessions devel-
oping leadership skills and meetings with politicians, social activists and public
authorities, whereby they were creating space for cooperation in the region and
exchanging experience concerning public activity in their countries.
School for Political Leaders of Eastern Partnership Countries responds to the
need for reflection over the nature and the future of East Partnership. This paper
includes selected texts written by the participants, which are the result of such
reflection in the context of their respective countries.
Of one thing we can be certain – passing on Poland’s experience as a country with
citizens directly involved in constructing democracy will eventually result in true
institutional changes in countries close to us not only due to their neighboring loca-
tion but also due to their historical and spiritual heritage.
This program would never have been realized without the support and contribu-
tion of our partners from the East Partnership.
Project’s team
4. 4
The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 opened for the countries of the former
socialist block, as well as for those, which used to be under influence of the Soviet
Union, an entirely new perspective of entering the EU. Poland, Czech Republic, the
Baltic countries and later Romania and Bulgaria entered the EU. This way, since
2008, the EU borders with the Republic of Moldova. Aiming at further expansion of
the EU borders in December 2008, the European Committee proposed to create
Eastern Partnership, which was supposed to embrace 6 countries of the Eastern
Europe (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and
Ukraine). The basic principle of this new initiative was to ensure the maximum of
possibilities for reform in each country within the Partnership, in the light of their
current political and economic reality. In May 2009 in Prague, East Partnership was
launched, with the ambitious goal of implementing political association and eco-
Perspectives of the
Eastern Partnership
and dialogue
in the region
“Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built
through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity.”
This sentence was said on May 9, 1950 by Robert Schuman, one of the founding
fathers of the European Union. It has become a symbolic motto of constant widen-
ing of the European space and consolidation of the great European family. This
consolidation resulted in time in lessening geographic distance and expansion of the
EU towards the East, thus making a geopolitical division between two superpowers:
Russia and the European Union.
Nicolae Arnaut
Project HSSAP (Ministry of Health) financed by World Bank
Republic of Moldova
e-mail: Narnaut@mail.ru
5. 5
nomic integration between the EU and its Eastern partners. It required new associa-
tion agreements, embracing widely understood free trade and gradual integration
with the EU economy. The aim was to facilitate travelling to the EU through gradual
liberalization of the visa travel, which was to be accompanied by means to fight
illegal migration. To meet new demands regarding the cooperation, 600 million euro
were granted for the years 2010–2013, including 350 million for new funds. Two
years after the launch of the EaP, the results of its activity were not satisfactory.
Bringing Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and
Ukraine closer to the UE could be measured only in millimeters, instead of the
expected meters. There has been a regress of democracy, possibility for liberalization
of the visa travel was only vaguely outlined and, in addition, the influences of Russia
became apparent. Such was the summary of the two-year-long existence of the East
Partnership. It is a project, which is supposed to be a bridge linking the UE with six
former soviet republics. The confirmation of the above statement is also the declara-
tion of the President of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek. He devoted much
attention to the situation in Belarus and Ukraine, while, during the Summit, the
former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was still under accusation of the abuse of
powers.” On no account should we be proud of the present achievements. On the
contrary, we should be critical of it, as we witnessed the regress in the development
of democracy, human rights and state of law in some of these countries”, stated the
President of the European Union. Perhaps it was only a coincidence, but the Polish
weekly magazine Polityka published on the day of the Summit’s eve wrote:
“The member countries of the EaP are not in good condition. In Belarus, after
a short rest, Lukashenka has returned to dictatorship methods towards his oppo-
nents, thus breaking bonds with Europe. In Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev ensured
himself life-long presidency, inherited from his father. Armenia follows the path of
putinism. In Georgia, Saakashvili has squandered the democratic gain of the Rose
Revolution. In Ukraine, Yulia Tymoshenko remains arrested and at the mercy of
judges subjected to pro-Russian president”. In Moldova, seemingly” the best student
in the group”, the echo of the Transnistrian conflict and the problems of the young
democracy made the pace of development remarkably slow. Returning to the
achievements of the Summit, the Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet wrote:” This
forum was not able to convince East European countries to take up reforms in
exchange for the promise of entering the EU”. The Stockholm daily put forward the
notion that the EU should have” directly attracted” the citizens with cheap and
uncomplicated visa procedures and granting help for civic society. The years 2010–
2013 were supposed to be an important, however difficult, period for the EaP
countries, especially regarding their intention to introduce a range of reforms
according to the standards and requirements of the EU. All this with but a vague
promise of the liberalization of visa restrictions on one side, and constant or even
growing influence of Russia in this area on the other. This influence, as it appears,
had its results during the summit in Vilnius. Under Russia’s pressure, Armenia was
the first to drop out from the project Vilnius 2013 (3rd of September). Under the
same pressure, Ukraine pulled back from taking part on 21st of November, followed
by Azerbaijan in the 25th of November. Among six candidates to joining the EU
(Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine) there
remained only the Republic of Moldova and Georgia. Even though both states
received the highest notes, only Georgia introduced perceivable reforms in the area
of economy and state’s development. The most apparent reform was the fight against
corruption. According to Transparency International, the corruption rate in Georgia
fell, and Georgia moved to position 55 in 2013, compared to place 99 from 2006.
6. 6
Moldova, which was noted 79 in 2006, faces clear regress, as it takes position 102 in
2013. The situation is no better in the other EaP countries. In 2013 Ukraine takes
position no 144, Armenia – 94, Azerbaijaan – 127, Belarus – 123. Initialing the
Association Agreement with the European Union is undoubtedly a great achieve-
ment of the present government in Chișinău and Tbilisi, and incites to form opinions
and analyses on the post-Vilnius period. A worring accent in some commentaries is
the repeating statement concerning “a block of salt”. Namely: Moldova was accepted by
the Europeans without having its homework properly done. Instead of fighting
corruption, it was often concealed, and additionally there are sanctions to be
expected on Moscow’s side. Skepticism can hardly be avoided in a society like ours,
more prone to disappointment than to enlivenment by simple enthusiasm. Meta-
phorically speaking, Moldova, as a result of a rather unpredictable only a few days
ago geopolitical game, is currently becoming the main flower in the bouquet of the
Eastern Partnership – the Ukrainian peony faded after the first wave of Russian
frost in November. Therefore, Moldova is now the subject of great expectations.
European administration will need to point at Moldova without forgetting about
Ukraine (where the case is not yet settled), with greater attention and generosity. We
can benefit from this economic situation. Most importantly, the inclination towards
the integration with the EU must continue to prevail among the authorities in
Chișinău and in the moods of bessarabian society. The European Union shall
become stricter with Russia – what is confirmed by the reaction of Poland,
expressed by the Polish President Komorowski. In an interview for the daily paper
Gazeta Wyborcza, he stated that the unacceptable blackmail with regard to Ukraine
should raise more alarm as to Russia’s activity in this area. For Moldova and Georgia
the step of initialing the Association Agreement with the EU is undoubtedly a
success, but it was more of a geostrategic meaning and was taken as a result of
geopolitical race between the U.S.A and the EU on one side and Russia on the other,
stressing again that it did not happen in the foreground of a series of noticeable
reforms in the development of the country but in the foreground of incessant Euro-
pean aspirations and the will to oppose Russia. Europe appreciated the effort to
become Europeans and was generous towards Moldova, perhaps even too generous,
since Europe means also fight against corruption, attracting foreign investors, fair
competition, transparency in decision-making, respect for human rights etc. The
European reforms in the Republic of Moldova remain unintroduced, there is only
corruption and poverty, lack of vision und will to solve internal affairs. The European
Union shall closely analyze all steps taken by Moldova and Georgia, but also
by Ukraine, which still has a chance to sign the Association Agreement with the EU,
while the fight against corruption remains the main goal.” Six member statesof the
Eastern Partnership were diverse from the very beginning but now, after the Sum-
mit in Vilnius, the differences between them have become even deeper” – remarked
the Estonian minister of the foreign affairs.
According to him, the EU should continue its activities but take into consideration
the differences between the EaP states: on the one side Georgia and the Republic of
Moldova, on the other Belarus and Azerbaijan and somewhere in between Armenia
and Ukraine.” Should we not pay closer attention to the current affairs, before the
introduction of some changes?” – asked rhetorically Urmas Paet. His view is that”
there is a need to prepare programs specific for each of these countries, resulting
from their aspirations, from what they would like to achieve individually within their
own internal development”. The European future of these countries depends mainly
on their own actions, their willingness to become Europeans and their determina-
tion to introduce deep reforms in their societies. Then the success of EaP shall be
achieved shortly, regardless of the barriers set up by Russia.
7. 7
Participation in public life, especially in politics, is one of the indices of democracy
in a given country. Throughout the world, women were actively involved in setting
democratic standards and various, even most dangerous actions of fight against
authoritarian regimes. The participation of women was significant even in the street
protests organized on behalf of demands to gain independence from the Soviet
Union (Sabedashvili, 2007) and in protests before the Rose Revolution or protests
organized in October and November 2007. Women’s’ activity in social life in Georgia
is a historical reality. Even today many women take part in pre-election activities.
The problem is not in the poor participation of women, but in the lack of agreement
on the side of the existent authorities on the women’s’ activities and affairs,
in actions of decision-making bodies and in the general underrepresentation of
women within those bodies.
Georgian legal acts grant men and women equal rights to vote. During the poll, they
are equally active, both in cities and in the countryside. To be sure, this balance is
still far from desirable level, with regard to who is elected on a given level of gov-
ernance. One can state that the participation of women in politics and in decision-
making processes is limited and remains far behind compared to the standard set
by the UN (30%). One of the eight millennium development goals set on September
8, 2000 in New York, signed also by Georgia, was to be realized by 2015. According
to these goals, men and women were supposed to have equal rights in issues related
to politics and governance in actions on all levels.
In Georgia in recent years, there has been some progress in reaching gender equality.
However, there are but few women occupying important decision-making posts,
post-election positions and posts in state bodies.
According to the gender inequality rating, Georgia occupies the 71st place among
137 countries1. It is more difficult for women to gain position in the parliament, even
though the elections offer great opportunity to position women as leaders (what is
the postulate of democratic governing and is indispensable for realization of equal
and general voting rights). During the last decade, the proportion of women in the
parliament has never exceeded 10% (years 1991–2008). In this time, in the most
important legislative body in Georgia, the highest rate of women’s’ participation was
9.4% (in 2003) and the lowest – 5% (in 2008).At the moment, after the elections in
1 “Gender equality in Georgia on the Bases of International Indices and Ratings” N. Bend-
eliani. CSS 2012
The participation
of women
in political life
and in civic activities
An example from Georgia
Gender equality in political processes is the fundamental aspect of modern
democracy. According to international standards, women should have equal rights
and opportunities to be involved in political processes as men – in all aspects and
on each level. To actually achieve this, it is necessary fight against adversities, as
the participation of women in the political processes is still very small. The aim of
this article is to analyze the present level of women’s involvement in the political
life in Georgia. The article points also at the main obstacles faced by the women
entering political life and includes a number of strategies helpful by overcoming
this problem.
Natia Ubilava
Institute for Policy Studies (IPS)
Georgia
e-mail: ubilavanatia@gmail.com
8. 8
2012, the participation of women increased to 10.8%: among 150 deputies there are
17 women. With this result Georgia occupies 105. place in general world classifica-
tion but among the OSCE countries it takes one of the last places and reveals huge
discrepancy from the average rate for the OSCE member states. (23.6%).2 The par-
ticipation of women in elections is also unimpressive. During the 2012 elections,
women constituted only 28% of the overall number of candidates. According to the
report prepared by OSCE observation mission concerning parliament elections:
“it is necessary to take further steps in order to reach gender equality in the legisla-
tive body”.3
Despite some progress in the form of legislative initiatives, the number of women in
decision-making bodies dropped after each elections, After local elections in 1998
this was 14 % but in 2002 it was only 12 %. During the elections in October 2006,
among the candidates on the lists there was only 11.14 % women. This rate did not
improve even after the elections – women constituted 11% among the newly elected
local authorities. Executive bodies also see but small number of women. In August
2012, among 19 ministers there were only 5 women. At the moment, among 20
ministers there are only 3 women, so their participation in the government has in
fact decreased.
Promotion of more active participation of women in political life should be a statu-
tory requirement. In 2012 a change was introduced in Georgian act on political
parties, granting financial benefits for political parties to improve gender equality.
According to the new regulations, each political party presenting 2 women among
ten candidates from their list would increase its donations from the state budget
2 http://www.osce.org/odihr/78432
3 Report issued by the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE on election to the parliament in
Georgia in 2012
9. 9
Small participation of women in public and political life in Georgia is a problem.
Therefore, it is necessary to support by regulations their greater activity in this area.
This responsibility lies also on political parties and the whole civic society. In rela-
tion to that, recommendations as to particular solutions are as follows:
• Ordering legal framework: regulations in Georgia need amendments, to ensure
greater participation of women in political life and to create equal opportunities
for men and women. It is possible by setting quotas in election laws. International
experience shows that the countries which introduced quotas were two times
more efficient in the issue of electing women.
• Political parties are an important instrument in the promotion of women in
politics, which is why regulations within the parties should ensure greater engage-
ment of women in parties’ life. However, parties do not show the required effort
to promote women. It is revealed e.g. by the fact that among 16 elective entities,
only 6 presented party lists considering norms on gender equality.
• Increase in public awareness: this increase as to the issue of maintaining gender
equality is directly linked to the increase in the women’s’ engagement.
• It is necessary to create a consolidate, organized and wide movement, which
would aim at informing the society and would inform women about issues impor-
tant for their participation in political and public life.
• Despite some progress in the area of greater women’s engagement, the situation
in Georgia so far implies low level of women’s’ participation in decision-making
processes and in political life. The necessary condition for increase in women’s’
participation in the public life is the introduction by the state the policy promoting
women’s’ activity in this area.
by 10%. This regulation brought no material change during the parliamentary elec-
tions in 2012, as most entities taking part in them presented lists without taking into
consideration the issue of gender equality. It was done only by 6 out of 15 registered
entities.
Georgian labor code provides no regulations for protection of women in their work-
place. Georgian society has no one fixed approach towards women’s’ engagement in
public and political life. The study conducted in 2013 as part of development pro-
gram of the UN4 reveals that half of Georgian population believes greater engage-
ment of women in public and political life will prove beneficial for the country.
However, it is worth to indicate that most of the society believes politics to be a male
domain and thinks that women’s’ participation should be limited. According to the
majority of population (61%) men are better leaders than women. Most people base
their views on stereotypes concerning the nature of women and thus explains why
politics is better to be left to men. On the other hand, the interest and motivation of
women to become more involved in politics, are still quite low. The reason for that
are social conditions, political environment and patriarchal social relations.
Gender equality in political life in bodies shaped by elections is one of the main
principles of democracy. The underrepresentation of women in this bodies is harm-
ful both for the quality of public discussion and for the efficiency of the institutions.
4 “Society’s approach toward gender equality in politics and business” ACT, UNDP Georgia,
2013
10. 10
(How) can we influence
the politicians,
without becoming
politicians
Being a politician in the Republic of Moldova consists mainly of protecting your own
rights or the rights of some small group. The way to the top is long and hard and
gaining politically high position is often based on large sums of money, coming from
very diverse sources.
If you are not a politician, your chances for maintaining power or influences are very
small. Still, persistent work and striving towards making a change can really bring
that change, even in the country, where the discrepancies between average citizens
and politicians remain significant.
Cristina Avram
Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS)
“Viitorul”
Republic of Moldova
e-mail: avramcr@gmail.com
Firstly, journalists attempt to make a change of reality. They try to influence
mentality of people, their way of thinking. They try to wake people up, encourage
them to act, to change reality, in which they live, for the better. The problem is that
in the Republic of Moldova the media are not completely independent. This makes
the noble goal of changing the citizens’ thinking (so they would strive for achieving
good things) is disfigured and people are often subjected to manipulation.
Secondly, one can influence the politics by active engagement on behalf of non-
government organizations. The NGO sector could create lobbing possibilities,
consultations, which in turn could lead to changes in politics. According to the
report Freedom House – Nations in Transition 2013, in 2012 in the Republic of
Moldova there were registered 8200 NGOs but only one half of them can show
some actual activity. Another problem is their too great concentration in the capital
city, with 65% of all NGOs. Despite that, the non-governmental sector remains an
important source of new and creative human resources for politics. Persons with
NGO background and experience are better at putting forward initiatives and new
ideas beneficial for the society.
11. 11
Being an ordinary citizen, it is much more difficult to influence politics. Still, active
persons, willing to devote some time and energy for a noble purpose have certain
possibilities to make themselves heard” on the top”. One of such possibilities is
writing a blog. The more the blog attracts readers sharing similar views, the greater
will be its influence. With the assistance of the social media there were organized
meetings of politicians with bloggers and the most popular among them expressed
their views.
Politics is the ground, on which there are clashes of differing business interests.
The general reason of state is just a pretext to realize particular goals of particular
groups. Politicians often focus on particular tasks, which they believe to be the most
important, and by these tasks they win subsequent elections or hope to be elected for
the next term. Such situation took place also in the Republic of Moldova, where sign-
ing the Association Agreement granted the current government the victory in the
next elections, even though they did not introduce changes in other areas. Still, you
do not need to be a politician to make a difference. Sometimes remaining outside the
politics allows to better see the nature of problems and to propose better solutions.
Most important issue is to find effective means to influence and express opinions in
such a way, to convince the society that their realization is possible. In the fight with
politicians, the main weapon is the will and the initiative!
12. 12
The role of
Ukraine in the
European security
architecture
The creation of the European security architecture is one of the most important
events of the twentieth century, which was the result of a desire to unite nation-
states as well as a number of circumstances and factors: Germany reunification and
Soviet Union”s collapse. We were evidencing the fact that NATO started to play on
the multilateral platform while OSCE lost its central role being originally envisaged
for it. At the same time, Europe initiated advocacy towards its own security and
defense system development. However, over the two decades, this existing order is
under revision again.
Victoria Vdovychenko / PHD Candidate, DIplomatic
Academy of Ukraine / Teaching Fellow, Department of
International Economics and Management, Kyiv National
Economic University / Ukraine
e-mail: vdovychenkov@gmail.com
13. 13
security. Together, the management, supply and delivery of these tools constitute
the system of governance and its efficiency to be measured.
The empowerment of these preconditions sets basis to create security helmet in
the country. The construction of the security architecture of the state is regarded
to be the central facet of the stabilization and state-building processes in especially
such newly-born democracies as Ukraine. Paraphrasing Kant’s famous quotation,
the link between security and good governance is to be vital since good governance
helps to prevent conflicts and in such a way advocates for peace and prosperity.
Being the monumental landmark for Ukrainian security, good governance should
not remain a standalone concept. It is essential to understand that good gover-
nance can’t be limited only to its development pattern but should encompass all
the sectors of human society. Creating transparent and accountable government is
considered to be the most effective national strategy. However, its effect is minimal
without confidence and trust building in the society. The effective political develop-
ment of a country depends less on the immediate fulfillment of goals and reforms
established by its democratic transformation and more on the methods in which
the nation achieve its democracy.
The debate at the beginning of the XXI century about Europe”s security has received
a new impetus since Russian Federation”s diverging views with NATO and EU on
the evolution of the countries of the “common neighborhood” such as Ukraine.
This research is aimed at analyzing European security architecture as well as
Ukraine”s role and place in it. Such an analysis is important due to the fact that
the security assurance of all spheres of life raised its visibility at the beginning of
the XXI century. The research is representing an attempt to focus on external and
internal benchmark of Ukraine”s challenges and opportunities in the European
security system.
Where are we now?
Domestic Context of Ukrainian Policy
Undoubtedly, our country might be characterizes as a main factor in the overall Euro-
pean security and economic architecture. After the USSR dissolution, Ukraine proved
to become a real subject in global geopolitics. Being a non-aligned country, it creates
a stabilizing geographical space between Russia on one side and EU on the other.
However, despite huge potential for a long-term prosperity, Ukraine remains even
now one of the most complicated geopolitical areas being at the same time extremely
vulnerable to emerging security threats at the beginning of the XXI century.
What might be the reasons for such vulnerability? The answer lies in the peculiar-
ity of the Ukrainian state-building in the 1990s. The actual Ukraine”s transition
towards democratic and economic development has been determined by one internal
malice which blocks all other attempts for prosperous future – lack of good gover-
nance.
As a system of economic, equitable, just and citizen-caring tools Ukrainian good
governance machine should have implications of being both responsible and
accountable. Moreover, it has to be predicated upon mutual cooperation of govern-
ment, civil society and private sector. The lack of cooperation within such a triangle
represents a backbone of all the current disputes and controversies in Ukraine.
The nature of these relationship and need to coordinate these interactions is
to assume critical importance in the nearest future.
The art of good governance measurement lies in ranking such public tools as rule
of law, political freedoms, an access to economic activity, education, healthcare and
14. 14
Where are all of us now?
European Spectrum of Ukraine’s importance for European
security on cross-border cooperation
Nowadays, our world becomes smaller and globalized while it remains more and
more unstable. We are evidencing the rise of two controversial tendencies. From
one side, the end of bipolar competition led to the appearance of new actors on
the international stage: international organizations, NGOs and nonstate entities
that are playing an active role in international relations. From the other side, while
the risks of inter-state conflicts decreased, it marked the rise of new threats being
taken insufficiently into account before. The most vivid factors of such instability are
intra-state conflicts, international terrorism, extreme poverty, threat of weapons of
mass destruction enriched by the general feeling of anxiety and insecurity.
One of the issues to analyze is a cross-border cooperation in Europe. Similar
to the state level on the supranational level we may observe that the process of
greater penetration in the “fuzzy” borders is accompanied by new over-whelming
15. 15
Eastern Partnership cooperation viewing it as a potential threat to its “strategic area
of influence”.
To my mind the key solution of EU-Ukraine security misunderstanding lies in
believing in Eastern Partnership mechanism. Training and capacity-building are to
be provided in the countries of “wider Europe” being crucial issues for the joint poli-
cies implementation. It will lead to the regions and states rapprochement in tackling
the same challenges. In doing so disparities between and among the countries
would diminish thriving to economic development and mutual political and cultural
understanding.
Where will we all be? Conclusion
The pace of change for our common future will depend a lot on the pressure that
people will be able to bring to the essential dialogue building between Ukraine and
EU. Eastern Partnership will help to enhance alliance building also at the inter-
national political community level helping to overcome transnational threats and
challenges. It will help to create a real security roof “from Vancouver to Vladivostok”
promoted by NATO. The foundations of security order should be shared despite
existing political and governmental disputes on EU-Ukraine level.
Ukraine is having its geopolitical weight in enhancing dialogue between EU and
Russia. Ukraine has already declared its aspirations to integrate into EU structures.
With the Association Agreement to be signed between EU and Ukraine in a month,
Ukraine will be more open to further security cooperation with Europe. We are
already having good examples of EU-Ukraine cooperation under CSDP which might
be enhanced by further security initiatives development.
All these points are to be essentially focused on the national and EU community lev-
els with the unanimous help of member states. Only in this case the security helmet
will be a conciliatory way of promoting peace and stability in the world especially
nowadays, in the challenging world, where traditional tools of public policy and
diplomacy are inefficient.
challenges like drugs and human trafficking and finally terrorism which are turning
to be more crucial in terms of value.
Ukraine should be valuated as an important partner in resolving frozen conflicts of
EU neighborhood. Our country has already been playing its mediator’s role since
1994 in the Transnistrian conflict resolution being the only frozen conflict located on
the EU border. Ukraine was the country which initiated to develop a Transnistrian
conflict resolution plan and EU Border Assistance Mission has been implementing it
by providing necessary consultancies and trainings.
The core issue in this respect hindering the cross-border understanding lies in
the approaches each of the government is undertaking in order to overcome the
problem. The vast array of governmental programs, regional planning efforts,
cross-border task forces is viewing the way-out of dealing with the new challenges.
However, a large number of such initiatives both from EU and Ukrainian side being
well-intentioned are overlapping or performing the same task repetitively. It is due to
the lack of over-whelming vision of how to trigger cross-border partnership platform
and come to the common ground of understanding the ways of tackling the joint
challenges. Primarily it concerns ENP countries, in particular Ukraine and other
members of Eastern Partnership group.
Some attempts should be made to consolidate cross-border dialogue into a set of
uniform mechanisms that are used consistently in and outside the borders of the
European Union. Moreover, it is worth recalling having political support from the
policy and decision-makers in the national and EU governments on the facilitation of
cross-border relationships.
Ukraine might become one of the pioneers among Eastern neighbors in development
and implementation of examples of good practices for further effective cross-border
cooperation. However, there are some of the obstacles in constructing essential
dialogue with the EU in security matters generally.
Since 2005 Ukraine has had a privileged status under CSDP. It made attempts to
align its security policy towards European in order to ensure peace on its terri-
tory together with other members of the EU. However, our country is still under-
estimated in terms of security influence in Europe. European Security Strategy
determines Russia being a key actor for developing further strategic partnership
regardless the fact that Russia denied to withdraw the troops from Transnistria
still providing economic support for it. Moreover, the official Kremlin is criticizing
16. 16
The phenomenon of social networks’ proliferation over the last decade has added
an additional dimension to the Internet. The US presidential election campaign of
2008 clearly demonstrated the impact social media have on politics. As it happens,
social networks’ potential turned out to be a double-edged sword: five years ago,
one used it to get to power; nowadays, it is being used by millions to overthrow
the authorities. In all seriousness, the entire Euromaidan initiative began with
a single Facebook post: immediately following the news of President Yanukovych’s
decision to repudiate the Association Agreement with the EU, Mustafa Nayem
(a popular blogger and journalist) wrote a status update inciting people to gather
on the Independence square in Kyiv for a protest. The message went viral, got 1600
reposts, and gathered over 300 protesters in less than an hour. Before the dawn
broke, thousands of peaceful demonstrants were rallying in downtown Kiev while
other cities kicked in: from Lviv, Ternopil and Ivano-Frankivsk to Hamburg, Toronto
and Washington, DC. Ukrainians all over the world have taken a stand against
the establishment, their efforts united and catalyzed by the social media.
#Euromaidan-2013:
a civil society
converged online
In the New Media Age, with new technologies fundamentally reshaping the media
landscape, the basic function to inform and influence public opinion is no longer
reserved for traditional sources. The advancements of Web 2.0 technologies have
now made it possible to create and exchange user-generated content with global
audiences online. The United Nations went so far as to pronounce internet access
a human right, which, by providing an opportunity to exercise freedom of speech
and expression, becomes an asset for democracy. In a repressive environment,
when mainstream media find themselves under strict censorship or persecution,
any new media that covers events from a different perspective or explicitly
advocates social change gets a chance to challenge the status quo. It so happened
that amidst the relentless fight defending its civilizational choice, Ukraine took
benefit from one of the above-mentioned civilizational advancements, namely
the social networks.
Olga Boichak
UNENGO “Mama-86”
Ukraine
e-mail: boichak@gmail.com
17. 17
petitions were found circulating the web: from the most popular ones, such
as a call for sanctions against President Yanukovych and government officials
(gathered 100,000 signatures in 4 days), to more ambiguous ones, e.g. requests
for a military intervention. In addition to petitioning, many internet users have
effectively engaged social media to offer free legal advice or gather evidence to
exonerate activists, beaten and imprisoned during police crackdowns. Social
networks have largely contributed to successful locating of persons missing after
the riots (all 30 individuals found and reunited with families). There has also been
a tremendously efficient fundraising campaign to start an independent online
channel, ‘Hromadske (Public) TV’: a startup venture that raised over 70,000 UAH
(approx. $8,500) of daily donations, mainly owing to social networks.
“Democracy only works when ordinary people claim it as their own” – an arguable
statement by Bill Moyers coheres with Ukrainian reality, where civil society took
a defiant stance against a corrupt government through massive grassroots activism.
Social media not only let Ukraine acknowledge the affinity and ongoing support from
the outside world, but also spread inspiration for the world’s oppressed. Now that
the fourth estate has emerged as the fifth column, regardless of disinformation
and chauvinistic propaganda from Kremlin, social media gave a 45-million nation
a chance to win the struggle for democracy.
P.S. Feel free to REPOST
Social platforms provide outstanding opportunities for multilateral interactions,
wherefore they often find themselves embedded in various e-governance systems.
In the context of Euromaidan, it would be fair to give credit to social networks
for serving as a platform for civil self-organization and governance, by the agency
of which a spontaneous civil unrest has evolved into a sustainable and effective
military encampment. Some bloggers audaciously proclaim Euromaidan to be
a reincarnation of the legendary Zaporizhzhya Sich – reinstating the long-forgotten
Cossacks’ democratic legacy and national self-determination through the three
centuries of subjugation. Ideology aside, Euromaidan has displayed a remarkable
online-coordinated division of labor: defense squads, field cuisines, first aid,
cleanup, accommodation, transportation and logistics, all volunteer-based.
According to Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, of 50% of adult population
with internet access, over half admit to social networking. We might plausibly
conclude that, by providing users with a multitude of opportunities to express
their opinion on pressing matters, social media gave a boost to citizen journalism.
Likewise, due to the abundance of petition tools available online, all sorts of
18. 18
February 2011. Puerto Rico. During the protests the police arrested and injured
several dozens of students. The lecturers and associates ran a two-day strike. Only
three days passed in peace. The situation was ignited after reducing the budged of
one university, which meant introducing 800 dollar fees for the students and over
50% increase of costs.
August 2011. Chile, under the rule of Pinochet, was one of the most stable countries
of the South America. In Santiago and many other cities, thousands of pupils and
students gathered in the streets, protesting and demanding radical reforms in the
system of education. Over 900 people were arrested, in the riots suffered also about
100 policemen.
Europe 2009–2013
Summer 2009. Iceland. For the first time during the last fifty years, the police
used tear gas against the protesters who led fierce mass anti-government protests.
According to the activists, the government led once blooming Iceland to the eco-
nomic slump.
Autumn 2009. During the greatest wave of protests against inequalities in education
system of Germany and Austria, the students occupied several lecture halls. Police
intervention, weeks of negotiations, even blocking food supplies – this way the
authorities tried to disarm the situation and solve the problem.
Spring 2011. Due to the high level of unemployment among the Spanish youth
(over 40%), there were mass protests all over the country. During five months,
6 to 8.5 million people took part in them.
Winter 2013. Over 15% of the inhabitants of Bavaria gathered in the city hall and
waited for hours in long queues to sign the petition for referendum on resigning
from the fees for studies at universities. In this initiative, there participated over
1.3 million persons. These were mostly students, who managed to persuade middle-
aged and elderly persons to join in their protest.
This list could easily be continued.
The source of
Euromaidan:
an own view
The world 2010–2013
December 2010. After the first protests in Tunisia, the citizens of over 15 countries
participated in the Arab spring, protesting against their governments. This led to the
dismissal of the leaders, national uprisings and protests on large scale in the whole
Arab world, as well as to civil war in Syria.
September 2011. New York sees the beginning of the new Occupy movement, which
was joined by thousands of people (describing themselves as “99%”), to fight against
inequalities of the present global financial system, bringing profits only to 1% of the
globe’s inhabitants. In 2012, the protest around the world involved almost a thou-
sand of cities, in which the activists were arrested, attacked with the pepper gas or
beaten.
Anna Lysenko
Parliamentary Development Program for Ukraine II
Ukraine
e-mail: nolanola090@gmail.com
19. 19
Why the arguments of politicians, economists, financial experts, claiming there
was no possibility for Ukraine as a state to sign the association agreement, did not
appeal to the Ukrainian youth, which still, day and night, remains on Euromaidan?
The young do not wish to hear the arguments “against”. They want to hear guaran-
tees that their country will be governed by good and efficient law, not the lack of it.
However, nobody can guarantee this: neither the Ukrainian government, nor the
European Union, nor the Russian Federation.
Euromaidan consists not of “crazy students, who have nothing better to do”, but stu-
dents and recent graduates of Ukrainian universities: lawyers, economists, managers
and others who either concluded they stand no chance on global work market or find
that in their mother-tongue they would be forced to participate in a rat race in post
soviet conditions, soft-soaping the current decision-makers, or, by being the best in
the competitions, are not ready and do not wish to engage themselves in the present
difficult and uncertain conditions.
December 2013. The issue of Euromaidan as a nationwide Ukrainian protest is not
about supporting the policy of European integration, or about rejecting Russia as
a strategic partner. It also is not a political provocation or action in support of the
Ukrainian opposition. It reveals the lack of trust towards those in power today and
those who used to live where “everything was decided without them”, while in the
1990s they decided their fate in a much more violent and barbaric way that what is
attempted by the Ukrainian youth today.
Ukraine 2013
November–December 2013. On December 1, 2013 over 800 thousand Ukrainians
went out into the central streets of Kiev. Most of them were students and young
activists from different regions of the country. A large scale peaceful manifesta-
tion – Euromaidan, supporting the direction of geopolitical and economic European
integration of Ukraine – has turned overnight into mass protest action. During
following days, just like campfires, there appeared on the map of Ukraine the next,
regional Euromaidans.
By analyzing the world dynamics of mass youth movements defending their rights
in the recent five years, it became apparent to me that the Ukrainian Euromaidan,
which was first perceived as a peaceful event “for” something, was from the very
beginning an event “against”. But against what?
The above examples illustrate that the modern youth, regardless of their country of
origin, confession, political views (which, in most cases, are of subjective character)
can and is ready to fight for its rights and beliefs. What seemed almost unthinkable
ten years ago, became a yearly tradition: large groups of youth gather together
and profess their opinions, even at the cost of their life and health. Does this mean
that the young around the world begin to believe again; believe in their own ideas,
rights and abilities to change the entire system? I am truly convinced that these
young people are driven by something more than just bravery and craving for strong
experience, to be remembered for the rest of their lives.
The lack of perspectives and fear of the future constitute the main power of Euro-
maidan and several similar maidans around the world during the last 5 years. There
are only different people on the top. When I ask my parents or people from their
generation what were their feelings and desires when they were my age (I am 23),
they respond in unison: “We lived quietly, everything was decided about without
us”. Everything was decided about without us – these words amazed me. How was
this possible? I cannot recall a day spent in Ukraine, when something was decided
without me, while this was the way they lived, being 23 (the crisis after the fall of
the Soviet Union took place when they were 25–30 and already had children). This
is the origin of clashes between our generations: in their youth they lived in abstract
“there”, where everything was decided upon without them, while we live in very real
“here”, where nothing has been decided about. The result: Ukrainian youth today
learns how to decide as it can, as it was taught by its own experience and time.
20. 20
The EaP Vilnius
Summit: the way
ahead or what’s next?
Kristine Hovsepyan
“European Integration” NGO
Armenia
e-mail: christine.hovsepyan@gmail.com
The 3rd Vilnius Summit in November 2013 was a significant opportunity to sum up
the cooperation between the European Union and Eastern Partners. The Summit
was called to finalize the EaP partners’ first concrete achievements and move
forward the cooperation.
Vilnius findings might become an important milestone in the long-term prospects for
the Eastern Partnership evaluation and modernization. Generally these two com-
ponents will generally determine not only the Vilnius summit, but also the overall
success of the Eastern Partnership policy. Despite other developments in a broder
context of integration processes the Eastern Partnership can help anchor the part-
ners’ future in an expanded European structure.
It’s of utmost importance to realize to what extent the Vilnius Summit could shape
the practical form of the Eastern Partnership’s so called “theoretical” success.
The separate summary of the respective cooperation spheres might allow us to create
an understandable structure in the process of landmark achievements, shortcomings
and comprehensive picture of the expectations. While recognizing and welcoming the
progress that has been made before, the EaP countries also recall that much remains
to be done to tackle the persisting challenges posed to democracy, the respect for fun-
damental freedoms and the rule of law. In this regard, Summit participants underline
that progress on respect for those common values will be essential notably through
strengthening the efficiency and independence of the judiciary; effectively tackling
corruption; and implementing public administration reform.
Indeed the Prague Summit in May 2009 launched a strategic and ambitious Eastern
Partnership, as a specific dimension of the European Neighbourhood Policy, to
further support the sustainable reform processes of all Eastern European countries,
States participating in the Eastern Partnership, with a view to accelerating the politi-
cal association and economic integration of interested partners with the European
Union (EU).
It would be improper to state that the Vilnius Summit will bring absolutely new
agenda to the table. The guiding principles for the Eastern Partnership are gener-
ally agreed upon in Prague and Warsaw. The participants of the Vilnius Summit
in effect re-confirmed their commitment to implement them fully. Overall the EaP
participants agreed the general political guidelines for the Partnership in 2014–15.
The Summit declaration, together with the new Association Agendas and other
existing and future documents guiding bilateral relations and Work Programmes
21. 21
The goals set by the participants of the Vilnius Summit which are to be attained by
the Partnership by 2015 among others include:
• Further strengthening the multilateral dimension of the Eastern Partnership;
• Seeking further regulatory approximation in all transport areas and implement-
ing transport infrastructure projects, along the Eastern Partnership transport
network through existing EU programmes and instruments, seeking closer
involvement of European and International Financial Institutions and prioritizing
projects that improve connections with the TEN-T core network;
• Promoting and strengthening visible and effective multilateral Flagship Initia-
tives including where appropriate combining policy dialogue and support for
infrastructure.
Now we can state that the gainful implementation of these goals beforehand could
straiten the probability of the outburst of the situation in the South Caucasus region
full of several challenges, including the so-called “frozen” conflicts. The above men-
tioned goals signify the main areas that could shape the fruitful collaboration within
the EaP countries, the basic urgent needs for these countries.
of the multilateral Platforms, will constitute a clear plan of action for the Eastern
Partnership in 2014–15.
When it comes to Armenia it’s worth to state that the EU and Armenia have recon-
firmed their commitment to further develop and strengthen their cooperation in all
areas of mutual interest within the Eastern Partnership framework, stressing the
importance of reviewing and updating the existing basis of their relations. In the
framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy and the Eastern Partnership, the
Summit participants reaffirmed the sovereign right of each partner freely to choose
the level of ambition and the goals to which it aspires in its relations with the Euro-
pean Union.
It’s essential to realize that while emphasizing the importance of developing strong
ties between the EU and the Eastern European countries, the Summit participants
themselves should move forward achieving closer cooperation to ensure stability
and prosperity on the European continent. The resolution of conflicts, building trust
and good neighbourly relations are essential to economic and social development
and cooperation in the broader region and especially the South Caucasus.
22. 22
When it comes to a broader integration vectors and processes the implementation of
above mentioned goals might complement the “both…and” option recently declared
and applied by the Republic of Armenia, as well as application of the “efficiency”
thesis in the economic integration dimension. Undoubtedly, the partners of the
Republic of Armenia acknowledge the specific situation of the RA with maximum
implementation of the so-called “both…and” formula and cast no doubt on the pos-
sibility of its implementation.
From this point of view the comprehensive reforms implemented and still expected
through further cooperation both in the framework of the Eastern Partnership
(as well as the Eastern Neighbourhood Policy) and through direct EU-EaP countries
might bring their greater contribution to the further promotion of the European
values in the region.
The observation of the EaP Vilnius milestone is remarkable because it first and fore-
most comes to prove that the European Union itself must take greater advantage of
an historic opportunity in the EaP area especially in the South Caucasus. The EU’s
democratic standards and wealth are appealing beacons. Closer EU ties will bring
more freedom in dealing with other partners. Simultaneously it is also up to each EaP
participating state to seize the opportunities created by the dialogue and negotia-
tions to build the foundations for a more secure and prosperous future.
23. 23
Reflections…
For me it was a great and very important opportunity to participate in this School
for Political Leaders of Eastern Partnership for few reasons. In my duties at the
CCE project in a town of Telavi, I have regular interaction with politicians and
with active members of society. This interaction allows me to be fully involved
and aware of the political developments, problems and civic society engagement
challenges in my community. By participating in the School, I learned about the
similar problems faced by other country representatives in their communities.
It was of utmost importance to have learnt about their role and participation in
their community’s development through politics and/or civic activism.
Lia Imerlishvili
Centers for Civic Engagement (USAID Contractor)
Management Systems International
Georgia
e-mail: liako_1999@yahoo.com
Since all of the participants share the same Soviet past, our community problems
are also very similar and we are and will be facing the similar challenges in future
and thus, sharing experiences and strategies for progress is crucial for our future.
Our Counties are gradually becoming more democratic and are aspiring to join the
European Union. As youth, were interested and obliged in helping our countries in
this process. Of course we are not politicians and we don’t have a direct impact on
political decisions but we can nevertheless influence and change some attitudes in
our small communities. All participants were very motivated to learn more about
European values since we all understand that without democratic dialogue, without
listening to each other, and without being more actively involved in political pro-
cesses, future will be harder for our countries.
During the project there were very interesting workshops, meetings, training ses-
sions, debates. We had lifetime opportunities to meet experts, politicians, CSO rep
24. 24
School for Political Leaders of Eastern Partnership was extremely exciting since par-
ticipants became friends; we share information daily about our countries progress
towards European Union, we interact with each other and discuss the latest develop-
ments shaping our countries politics and future. These informal relations allow us
to know more about each country, internal politics and societal attitudes beyond
the official news sources. We are able to get information directly from our peers and
thus have an insider’s perspective into each country. The School also helped us learn
about different cultures, traditions and backgrounds.
I also believe that development of an online PDF publication is a great way of us
further and more regularly sharing our experiences, challenges and news about our
countries journey to European Union.
Last but not least, we as a young people have great opportunity to get involved in
political and/or civic processes as we all have potential be became the future leaders
because “Potential leaders are everywhere …”
resentatives and opinion leaders in Kiev and in Warsaw. Listening to experts about
what are they doing in their country to progress democratically and to better
protect human rights was a beneficial experience for me because Georgia is also
aspiring to same values of democracy, citizen engagement and tolerance and I can
apply their experiences into my context, and use their democratic journey as an
example to be replicated in my community and in my country.
25. 25
School for
Political Leaders of
the East Partnership
countries
– a remarkable
experience
School for Political Leaders of the East Partnership countries (SPLEP) is a one-of-a-
-time experience. I mean not only the program but also the way it was carried out
and the places where the sessions were realized, the persons I worked with and
the gained information.
Cristina Gurez
News Agency TRIBUNA
Republic of Moldova
e-mail: cristinagurez@gmail.com
SPLEP was from the very beginning an interesting challenge for everyone. During
whole days we had a lot of work: from 8 A.M. to 10 P.M in Kiev, and in Warsaw even
from 7 A.M to 10 P.M The days were very intense, but due to interesting classes
I hardly noticed when it was the evening, and then again the morning.
I revised my knowledge on political studies, sociology and journalism and I certainly
added to my information. I learned not only from trainers but also from fellow par-
ticipants, most of whom had impressive experience I also wish to gain. The School
for Political Leaders was my first international experience and I admit it convinced
me to search for new possibilities in this area.
Both sessions (28th of June – 5th of July 2013, Kiev), (22nd – 28th of September 2013,
Warsaw) were very active: there were presentations, games and team-integrating
activities. New people. New experience.
We spoke English, Russian, Romanian. I learned several words from Ukrainian,
Polish and Georgian. We shared our impressions and ideas at to our respective
countries and cultures.
26. 26
One day was especially memorable, even though all propositions were very interest-
ing. This day ended with a visit in the office of the magazine “Res Publica Nova”.
I had the honor to participate there in an exceptional panel discussion. Two editors
in chief from political magazines were asked typically political, provocative ques-
tions: journalism and money... The rivalry between them only added fuel to the fire
in an already heated debate.
We also learned the rules of the Oxford debate and one day I could attend one. A true
show. Our friends did good. It is also worthwhile to recall a team game in the first
night, in the nearby forest. With help of little flashlights, we were looking for clues
how to find Dracula. This is not a joke. Between 10 and 11 P.M. we were searching
for clues J In order to properly describe the election campaign, the effort put in its
preparation and the final results, I would need to write at least two more pages.
Among the unforgettable events were not only training sessions and study visits
but also the time spent with the people I already met in Kiev and with whom
I established bonds reaching beyond formal acquaintance. There were many positive
emotions and unforgettable moments.
I finished School with a greater knowledge, new information, friends, contacts,
impressions, emotions, perspectives and plans! I have not become a leader yet but
I have made a large step in this direction. Due to this project, I was able to see new
cities and learn new cultures. I came home with many photographs, graduation
diploma, beautiful memories, a magnet to put on the fridge door and an envelope
– a heritage, in which other participants expressed their opinion of me. An interest-
ing thing... and, of course, with greater experience in many aspects. I came back
with heavy luggage – literally and figuratively speaking! And all ended well!... since
if there is no happy end, there is no end at all! I wish, though, that we can all meet
again, the organizers, the participants, and I look forward to some new projects, in
which we could actively participate. Congratulations to the organizers for excellent
organization and carrying out the entire project.
In Warsaw we worked much harder than in Kiev but is was also more interesting.
We had a number of study visits. We met the deputies of the Polish Sejm and even
MEP Rafał Trzaskowski from Poland, who is greatly involved in the cooperation of
our country with the EU. We visited the Sejm, in the Chancellery of the President we
met the president’s advisor Henryk Wujec – a true legend, who told us many inter-
esting stories. We visited the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw. In Kiev we also cooperated
with deputies, parties, NGOs and journalists.
27. Partners
School for Leaders,
Polska
European Dialogue
Society, Ukraine
Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy
– Georgia Representation, Georgia
National Youth Council of Moldova – CNTM,
Republic of Moldova
Analytical Centre
on Globalization and
Regional Cooperation
(ACGRC), Armenia
ISBN 978–83–939043–2–7
Warsaw 2013
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