Civil society

Main content and commitments of Ukraine

Development of civil society is regulated by Chapter 26 of Title V “Economic and Sector Cooperation” of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.

Cooperation between the Parties in this area covers the following areas:

• expansion of contacts and mutual exchange of experience between civil society sectors (hereinafter CS) in Ukraine and EU Member States;
• involvement of the CS organizations in the implementation of the projects of the Association Agreement, including monitoring of its implementation;
• popularization of Ukraine, in particular its history and culture among the EU countries;
• information on EU activities in the Ukrainian media, in particular its basic values, the functioning of institutions and the main policies of the European Union.
• supporting the process of institutional development and consolidation of civil society organizations.

In order to achieve these goals, it is planned to conduct professional seminars to improve the skills of the target audience.

Association bodies

Responsible bodies in Ukraine

The Government Office for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, as well as ministries and agencies in accordance with their competence, are responsible for coordinating the work with the Ukraine-EU civil society platform.

The state of adaptation of Ukrainian legislation and cooperation with the EU

• The EU–Ukraine Civil Society Platform has been created, which is a joint body of the SC with the purpose to monitor the implementation of the Association Agreement, in accordance with Articles 469–470 of the Association Agreement.
• The Ukrainian Party of the EU–Ukraine Civil Society Platform (UP CSP) has been established. The UPP consists of 15 members being the representatives of various sectors of the SC — public associations, trade unions and employers' organizations, approved by the UP CSP Assembly in accordance with the Regulation: 6 coordinators of the UP CSP working groups; 3 representatives of public associations; 3 representatives of national level trade unions; 3 representatives of the employers' organization at the national level. The chairmanship of the UP CSP is carried out on a rotational basis. There have been three meetings of the Civil Society Platform (the last meeting was held on November 8-9, 2016 in Kyiv).
• The National Strategy for Civil Society Development in Ukraine for 2016-2020 is being implemented (approved by the Decree of President of Ukraine of February 26, 2016 No. 68) as well as the action plan for its implementation. The Strategy determines the areas of cooperation between civil society organizations of Ukraine and EU Member States in terms of harmonization of domestic legislation in the sphere of civil society with the EU law. The document aims at establishing a dialogue between the authorities and civil society organizations, primarily on the issues of ensuring human rights and freedoms.
• The Coordination Council for the Promotion of Civil Society Development has been established, with the status of a consultative and advisory body under the President of Ukraine.