International Renaissance Foundation Digest 2011

International Renaissance Foundation Digest 2011 www.irf.ua

The EU will cooperate with Ukrainian civil society Government warned against modernization at the expense of human rights Sounding the Alarm: Protecting Democracy in Ukraine Ukrainian civil society needs European legislation Political news covers government activities most Economy is the main concern of Ukrainian protesters Ukraine lost to Moldova and Georgia in the pace of European integration Ukraine has fully implemented only 2 out of 78 EU priorities More than 200 events took place due to the Day of Europe in Ukraine Consulates of Belgium, Netherlands, and Spain are most "demanding" when issuing visas The perception of Russia in Ukraine, Romania, and Moldova Experts deny advantages of Ukraine’s accession to the Custom Union Legal Empowerment of the poor: promoting justice, developing communities, reducing poverty NGOs will monitor public procurement in Ukraine Work of university admission committees was not transparent "StopPain" campaign launched in Ukraine Ukrainian Roma to be provided help building homes Roma in Ukraine don’t have passports due to lack of awareness and funds and distrust of the authorities Ukraine's museum community unites for the sake of reforms

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THE EU WILL COOPERATE WITH UKRAINIAN CIVIL SOCIETY

On December 19 Kyiv hosted the Civil Society Forum “EU-Ukraine Summit 2011: Civil Society Dimension”. It was organized by the Ukrainian National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, the Laboratory of Legislative Initiatives, the Civic Expert Council, and the European Program of the International Renaissance Foundation.

President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso and President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy participated in the Forum.

The forum statement, presented to the EU leaders, emphasided that Ukraine still faces a number of unresolved problems that impede the EU-Ukraine dialog.

Some of the problems are: · a low level of public dialog on the country’s modernization and Europeanization, discussion of the reform policy, and inadequate explanation of the expected results

and possible risks of the reforms by the government; · absence of mechanisms for implementation of political, legal, social and economic reforms in the process of Ukraine’s European integration; · lack of an effective top-level mechanism to coordinate European integration policies with a view to carry out domestic reforms according to the European Union standards; · failure to comply with principles of good governance at various levels and imitation of public engagement in government decision-making; · an inferior new law on parliamentary election that only partially reflects recommendations of the Venice Commission and whose certain provisions contradict decisions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine; this, as well as the absence of proper political competition, jeopardizes free and fair parliamentary election in 2012;

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· persecution of civil society leaders, human rights activists and political opposition, selective use of criminal laws that require significant changes; · restrictions of the right to peaceful assembly; · failure to implement counter-corruption measures, and lack of transparency in various government functions, particularly in public procurement; · pressure upon the media coming from the financial and industrial groups close to the current administration; no progress with establishment of public broadcasting; · slow progress and controversial development of legislative regulation of nongovernmental organizations that would reflect recommendations of the Council of Europe and civil society needs; · shrinking education reforms, rejection of university autonomy and equal access to higher education; · absence of fair competition in small and medium business markets, and absence of most favored treatment for investments in the sector; · lack of transparent rules in the energy market.

“Ukrainian civil society is trying to build Europe in Ukraine, and it sees the European Union as its partner. Civil society institutions will continue their monitoring efforts, advocacy and educational work to promote democracy, rule of law, basic human rights and freedoms, media freedom, and good governance. At the same time, we are ready to provide expert assistance to the President, Government, and Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, should there be political will to accept open dialog and public engagement, to effectively implement European integration policies”, stated Ihor Kohut, the Ukrainian National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum Coordinator.

Remarks of Herman Van Rompuy following the 15th EU-Ukraine Summit Statement by Herman Van Rompuy after his meeting with Ukrainian Civil Society representatives Laboratory of Legislative Initiatives Ihor Kohut kohut@laboratory.kiev.ua

GOVERNMENT WARNED AGAINST MODERNIZATION AT THE EXPENSE OF HUMAN RIGHTS The Ukrainian government talks about modernization solely as technological or economic change, disregarding such fundamental elements of modernization as human rights, equality under the law and rule of law. Ineffective cooperation with civil society, analytical institutions and experts stands in the way of the modernization reforms proclaimed by

the government. This was the emphasis of the analytical report “The new government: the challenges of modernization” presented in Kyiv. It was prepared by the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting, the Center of Political and Legal Reforms, the Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation, the Razumkov Centre, and the Laboratory of 3

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Legislative Initiatives with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation. The authors include more than 40 experts from leading non-

governmental think tanks in the fields of political science, law, economics, social policy, environmental policy, education, culture, etc.

Head of the Center for Political and Legal Reforms Ihor Koliushko noted in the report: “Since coming to power, President Viktor Yanukovych, the Government and parliamentary majority of the Party of Regions have accomplished only one thing: concentrating power and responsibility in the hands of the President and his Administration. And this was achieved not just through numerous departures from the letter and spirit of the Constitution of Ukraine, but also with total disregard for the doctrine of rule of law.” Thus, according to the expert, the established system of power has not become effective or capable or implementing vital social reforms.

"Out of the many priorities, practical steps have been taken only in two directions: the new tax law and pension re-

form. But since these laws were passed hastily, they will require adjustments in the future," said Head of the Board the Institute for Economic Research and Consulting Ihor Burakovsky, commenting on the economic section of the report. He drew particular attention to the fact that the business climate and conditions for doing business in Ukraine remain difficult, which in his opinion does not contribute to the implementation of the ambitious goals of modernization.

In the humanitarian field, experts raised the question of how to overcome the irreconcilable dispute between two public policies in the humanitarian sphere: national-democratic and “post-soviet”. “The only hope is the activity of an independent civil society – non-governmental organizations, various public organizations 4

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that defend rights, trade unions,” noted Yevhen Bystrytsky, Executive Director of the International Renaissance Foundation.

Research Director at the Institute for EuroAtlantic Cooperation Oleksandr Sushko noted the dissonance between the government’s declared policy of European integration and authoritarian trends in domestic policy. In his opinion, the deteriorating domestic political situation may

also create problems for Ukraine’s foreign policy. “The authoritarian model contradicts even the theoretical possibility of Ukraine’s integration into the European Community,” he said.

The International Renaissance Foundation Stanislav Lyachinsky +38 044 486 24 74 liachinskiy@irf.kiev.ua

SOUNDING THE ALARM: PROTECTING DEMOCRACY IN UKRAINE

Readiness to ensure conducting the next parliamentary elections in Ukraine according to OSCE standards will be the litmus test on democracy of Ukraine’s public authorities, David Kramer, Executive Director of the Independent watchdog organization Freedom House, stated during a presentation of the report “Sounding the Alarm: Protecting Democracy in Ukraine” in Kyiv on June 14, 2011. Preparation of the report was supported by the International Renaissance Foundation.

Experts say that concerns arise over the influence of the public authorities on electoral environment by means of such methods that damage political prospects of independent and opposition forces and help to concentrate power in the hands of the ruling party both in Kyiv and regions.

The report expresses a concern due to the parliamentary elections, scheduled for November 2012. Representatives of Freedom House consider that the key issue here is how specifically the electoral system will be. Freedom House appeals to 5

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Ukraine’s public authorities to cooperate with the Venice Commission during preparation of amendments to the electoral legislation.

Experts also warn the Ukrainian authorities of the attempts to limit freedom of activity of non-governmental organizations. Damon Wilson, one of the authors of the report and Executive Vice President at the Atlantic Council, emphasized that in order to meet international democratic standards, Ukraine has to create favorable legal framework for activity of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). At the same time he expressed the position against the intentions of the public authorities to limit foreign financing of NGOs and emphasized that approval of such a norm will put Ukraine outside of the democratic world. Free activity of NGOs is a guarantee of democratization of the society, Wilson said.

Yevhen Bystrytsky, Executive Director of the International Renaissance Foundation, noted: “Supporting the research by a group of independent experts under the auspices of Freedom House, our goal was to obtain an unbiased assessment of the state and dynamics of democracy in Ukraine. The researchers gave significant attention to what opportunities and positive ways exist for avoiding a negative scenario of development of events. We plan further to support conducting such assessments in the future, both with involvement of foreign and domestic experts, by organizing a constant public control.”

International Renaissance Foundation Stanislav Liachinsky +38 044 486 24 74 liachinskiy@irf.kiev.ua

UKRAINIAN CIVIL SOCIETY NEEDS EUROPEAN LEGISLATION leading think tanks, on the initiative of the Civil Society Impact Enchancement Program of the International Renaissance Foundation.

Executive Director of the Network of European Law Centers Oleksandr Vinnikov stressed that a new law must be adopted because current Ukrainian legislation does not meet the standards of the Council of Europe. According to the expert, the biggest difference between European standards and current Ukrainian law is that nongovernmental organization can only defend the rights and interests of their members. In addition, the existing law limits the activities of non-governmental organizations based on territory. The

There are no political obstacles to the adoption of a new law on nongovernmental organizations. Such was the conclusion of an expert discussion held between people’s deputies of Ukraine, representatives of the presidential administration and experts from 6

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draft law “On non-governmental organizations” (№7262-1), which was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada in the first reading, aims to remove these and other inconsistencies with European standards.

“There have been no major political differences during the work on the bill,” said Ihor Koliushko, head of the board of the Centre for Political and Legal Reforms. “In preparing the bill on non-governmental organizations, complex professional discussions revolved more around terminology and technical and legal issues expressed by members of the working group.”

Executive Director of the International Renaissance Foundation Yevhen Bystrytsky said: “Given the strategic importance of this bill for the development of civil society in Ukraine, the Foundation will support the effective operation of the working group. Leading experts in this field, no doubt, will have the opportunity to express their professional position during the revision of the bill.”

The International Renaissance Foundation Stanislav Lyachinsky +38 044 486 24 74 pr@irf.ua

POLITICAL NEWS COVERS GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES MOST

In October, more than two-thirds of news coverage of political events by leading Ukrainian television channels was dedicated to the government. This according to a study conducted by the Academy of Ukrainian Press with the participation of researchers from the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and

support of the Mass Media Program of the International Renaissance Foundation. The results were presented in Kyiv on November 7.

On all the channels, the majority of coverage was one-sided and favored the government. The least balanced coverage was on the First National Channel. In September and October, TRK Ukraina 7

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gave the most air time to opposition views.

Overall, 69% of sound bites were from representatives of the government, 24% from the opposition, and 7% from other politicians (76%, 14% and 10%, respectively, in September). TRK Ukraina (41%) and Novy Kanal (32%) allocated the most time to sound bites from representatives of the opposition.

According to the experts, only one in every five political news stories on the First National Channel included opinions of the government’s political opponents, while on Novy Kanal this figure was two out of three.

As the experts noted, leading channels are nowadays less interested in political news and have increased reporting about crimes, accidents and disasters. On average, 75% of all news stories in 2011 concerned Ukraine and only 20% were political.

The study was conducted by analyzing the content of prime times news programs on leading Ukrainian channels: Inter, 1+1, Novy Kanal, Ukraina, STB, ICTV and First National.

The Academy of Ukrainian Press Valeriy Ivanov +38 044 440 95 35 ivanov@aup.com.ua

ECONOMY IS THE MAIN CONCERN OF UKRAINIAN PROTESTERS Most protest actions (56 per cent) that took place in Ukraine from October 2009 till December 2010 concerned social, economic issues, experts of the Center for Society Research say. The project was supported by the Civil Society Impact Enhancement Program of the International Renaissance Foundation.

According to experts, the following circumstances and situations most often led to protests: delays in payment of salaries and violations of employees' rights; cases of infill construction; violations of the right to housing (first of all, eviction from dormitories); problems of ecology, housing and community amenities and public transportation.

3,600 protest actions were registered in total for the indicated period in Ukraine, that is, on the average eight ones were registered every day. At the same time only 26 per cent of the protests took place

with participation of political parties and the latter participated only in 10 per cent of the social-economic protests.

During the period from the last presidential elections in Ukraine till September 2010 frequency of repressive actions increased almost by one and a half times (from 10.8 repressions per 100 protest actions before the elections to 15.2 after the elections). During the last three months of 2010 frequency of repressions increased even more – to 16.6:100. One started to apply preventive repressions more often and those are such: court ban to conduct actions; prevention of conducting; intimidation of protesters or their carriers.

The complete text of the research (in Ukrainian) can be found here Center for Society Research Inna Sovsun +38 067 502 57 27 8

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UKRAINE LOST TO MOLDOVA AND GEORGIA IN THE PACE OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION

Ukraine, once seen as the flagship country of the Eastern Partnership (EaP), today lags behind Moldova and Georgia in many aspects. This was highlighted in the pilot edition of the European Integration Index for Eastern Partnership Countries that was presented on December 12 in Kyiv and before that on November 30 in Poznan during the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum.

The study was initiated and prepared by the International Renaissance Foundation’s European Program and East-East: Partnership Beyond Borders Program in cooperation with Open Society Foundations.

Iryna Solonenko, the editor of the report and Director of IRF’s European Program, noted

that compared with other Eastern Partnership countries, Ukraine shows the greatest gap between intensity and depth of ties with the EU (Linkage dimension), on one hand, and the degree of approximation with EU standards and requirements (Approximation dimension), on the other.

Commenting on the section of the Index dealing with Freedom, Security and Justice, Research Director of the Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation Oleksandr Sushko said: “Ukraine took the right steps, a number of necessary laws were passed on refugees, foreigners and stateless persons, and the Concept on Migration Policy was created. It’s now a matter of implementing these progressive laws.”

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In turn, Ihor Burakovsky, Director of the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting, stressed that one of the key European integration problems in Ukraine is unequal business conditions.

“If there are unequal conditions for Ukrainian businessmen, then it’s obvious that there can be problems for European business in Ukraine,” said the expert.

Another serious problem, in his opinion, is the quality of use of budget funds in Ukraine, which also doesn’t meet European standards.

Executive Director of the International Renaissance Foundation Yevhen Bystrytsky recalled that before the EU-Ukraine Summit scheduled for December 19, leading Ukrainian NGOs appealed to the European Union to initial the Association Agreement with Ukraine, and urged the Ukrainian government to recognize and guarantee the principles of rule of law and judicial independence. This appeal was supported by the Eastern Partnership

Civil Society Forum. “If the Agreement is not initialed, then it will be very difficult for civil society to find leverages in order to demand that the government support a European course of development and reforms in Ukraine,” he said.

The European Integration Index for Eastern Partnership Countries will track the progress of Eastern Partnership countries — Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine — on an annual basis. It provides a nuanced cross-country and cross-sector picture that is comparative. More than 30 experts from the EU and the EaP countries are involved in the project.

More information on Index European Program Iryna Solonenko +38 044 461 95 00 solonenko@irf.ua

UKRAINE HAS FULLY IMPLEMENTED ONLY 2 OUT OF 78 EU PRIORITIES Ukraine has reached substantial advance in putting into practice 20 AA priorities of the EU-Ukraine Association Agenda (AA) identified for 2011-2012, primarily in security, economic, trade and visa liberalization sectors. These are the major conclusions of a monitoring report, prepared by a consortium of Ukrainian think tanks, including The Ukrainian Centre for Independent Political Research, The Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting, and The Centre for Political and Legal Reforms. The media support is provided

by the international NGO "Internews Ukraine". The monitoring is supported by the European Program of the International Renaissance Foundation. The report was presented on November 3rd, 2011 at a press conference in Kyiv.

Implementation of most priorities (70 out of 78) of the EU-Ukraine Association Agenda (AA) identified for 2011-2012 is still in progress, experts say. Ukraine has fully implemented only 2 out of 78 analyzed priorities and fell short to implement 6 priorities. In general, however,

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Ukraine’s implementation of the AA priorities stays uneven.

Yulia Tyshchenko, the director of the project, the head of the board of the Ukrainian Centre for Independent Political Research, said: “If Ukraine considers itself as a democratic,

free country, respecting principles of the rule of law and human dignity, it has no other alternative. If Ukraine loses this historic chance, the country will be thrown back to uncertainty”.

However, between January and October 2011 Ukraine showed symptoms of reform stagnation in the fields of political dialogue, rule of law and independence of the judiciary, experts say. Despite optimistic declarations of the Ukrainian authorities, today’s situation can lead to the slowdown of Ukraine’s EU integration progress.

Generally, slow pace of AA priorities implementation shows that EU-modeled institutional and modernization reforms face serious obstacles in Ukraine, according to the monitoring. This state of affairs can lead to stagnation of the Ukrainian EU progress. This stagnation, however,

will have a direct impact on life of ordinary Ukraine’s citizens, depriving them of an opportunity to live, in the near future, in a country ensuring human rights, democratic values and the rule of law, experts say.

More information http://www.es-ukraina.blogspot.com http://eu-pda.livejournal.com Ukrainian Centre for Independent Political Research Yulia Tyshchenko tyjulia@gmail.com

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MORE THAN 200 EVENTS TOOK PLACE DUE TO THE DAY OF EUROPE IN UKRAINE

More than 200 festive events took place in Ukraine due to the celebration of the Day of Europe in 2011. The celebration was also supported by the European Program of the International Renaissance Foundation.

Residents of 40 localities – from oblast centers to villages – joined the celebration. They participated in educational and entertainment events and for the first time, during celebration of the Day of Europe they found out more not only about the countries of Europe, their culture and traditions, but about European values too.

300,000 people participated in the nationwide campaigns called “I share European values”, “European Parades”, “Youth – for European values!”, “Eurobus-4: Youth of Europe – for Ukrainian communities” and in events of regional

scale in Vinnytsia and Rivne Oblasts, Uzhhorod and Kyiv.

The nationwide campaign “I share European values” united residents of Vinnytsia, village of Hannivka in Dobropilsky Region of Donetsk Oblast, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kaniv, Kremenchuk, Luhansk, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Rovenki in Luhansk Oblast, Okhtyrka of Sumy Oblast, Sambir of Lviv Oblast, Simferopol, Sumy, Kherson, Khmelnytsky, Cherkasy, Chernivtsi and Chernihiv around European values that include respect to human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, rule of law, respect to human rights, in particular, respect to the rights of minorities.

Within the project “Youth – for European values!”, students of senior classes from secondary schools and students from colleges and universities of Lviv, Khmelnytsky, Kirovohrad, Chernivtsi, Vinnytsia 12

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and Cherkassy saw three theater performances on the topic of European values and also participated in the discussion regarding the proclaimed values.

“European parades” took place in Mykolaiv, Kyiv, Cherkassy and Zaporizhia.

This type of activity represented a range of entertainment events in the format of walking procession of the participants.

Youth of small towns and villages had an opportunity to communicate with their peers from the countries of European Union, find out more about the EU and the opportunities that it offers and also about the opportunities to implement interest-

ing public initiatives. Young people from 13 populated places had such communication during the stops of the Eurobus in their area (the project “Eurobus-4: Youth of Europe – for Ukrainian communities”).

Also public debates took place in Kyiv, such as event “No to visa regime! Europe is our home!” and event “Smile, Europe!”.

European Program Daryna Nakonecha +38 044 461 95 00 nakonechna@irf.kiev.ua

CONSULATES OF BELGIUM, NETHERLANDS, AND SPAIN ARE MOST "DEMANDING" WHEN ISSUING VISAS the Europe Without Barriers Public Initiative with the support of the European Program of the International Renaissance Foundation.

Consulates started to use the practice of return report to the Consulate after applicant return from the EU and Schengen area. The diplomatic missions of Spain and Germany have mainly used such practice.

For more than a half of respondents the visa application procedure took from 7 to 10 days. The most precise in meeting of deadlines in visa application procedure are the Lithuanian and Swedish Consulates.

There was marginal decrease in the number of free of charge visas: from 31% in the last year to 28% in this year. The vast majority of applicants paid for a visa – 71%. The smallest amount of free visas was issued by the Consulates of the Netherlands (3,3%), Spain (6,7%) and

The Consulates of Belgium, Netherlands, and Spain in Ukraine require the largest number of additional documents when issuing visas. The group of “demanding” Consulates includes Italian, Portugal, and French Consulates. These are the results of the fifth wave of independent monitoring on issuing visas by the EU Consular offices to Ukrainian citizens. The monitoring was organized by 13

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Denmark (1,7%). The largest amount was issued by the Austrian (43,3%), Slovak (42,5%), CzechRepublic (41,7%) and German (40%) Consulates.

There was a slow increase in the share of long-term multiple visas valid for three to six months – about 11,6% (last year - 9%).

The total share of visas, valid for over 6 months to one year, has increased from 13% to 17,3%, the lion's share of which are the "one year" visas.

The vast majority of applicants receive short-term visas (category "C") for a single visit. The greatest number of visas of category “D” is the national visas for long term stay and they are issued by the consular offices of Poland and Estonia, while the proportion of visas is about 7% and it is slightly decreased in comparison to the year 2010.

The consulates of Hungary, Poland and Slovakia issued the largest amount of multiple-entry visas. The first place on issuing the long-term visas is occupied by

the Hungarian consular service primarily due to liberal politics of the consulates located in Transcarpathia (total - 64%), followed by - Poland (54%) and Slovakia (48%). The smallest amount of multipleentry visas was detected in the consulates of Lithuania (6,7%) and Greece (12,2%) However, the half of multiple-entry visas still has a short validity: to three months, which indicates a failure of the EU Visa Code provisions by the consulates (Article 24, paragraph 2). This Article provides the issuance of long-term visa for 6 months or more. The visas valid for more than a year are still unavailable for Ukrainian citizens. The amount of such visas is less than one percent - 0,4%.

Europe Without Barriers Public Initiative Iryna Sushko, iryna_sushko@ukr.net Oksana Hyrych, oksana.ewb@gmail.com +38 044 238 68 43 office_ewb@novisa.com.ua

THE PERCEPTION OF RUSSIA IN UKRAINE, ROMANIA, AND MOLDOVA A study "Perception of Russia in Ukraine, Romania, and the Republic of Moldova" was presented in Kyiv. It was prepared by an international analytical group that included representatives of the Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation (IEAC, Ukraine), Center for Conflict Prevention and Early Warning (Romania) and Institute for Public Policy (Republic of Moldova) under the support of the East East: Partnership Beyond Borders Program of the International Renaissance Foundation.

The following specialists participated in the event: Borys Tarasyuk, IEAC Director,

Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on European Integration; Oleksandr Sushko, IEAC Scientific Director; Iulian Chifu, Director of the Center for Conflict Prevention and Early Warning; Oazu Nantoi, Program Director of the Institute for Public Policy; Nataliya Belitser, Researcher of the Pylyp Orlyk Institute for Democracy; and Volodymyr Horbach, IEAC Political Analyst.

Iulian Chifu noted that Russian impact on Romania is primarily of economic nature and its society already developed a sufficient immunity against the influence on basic values of the country's citizens. At 14

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the same time he emphasized that it does not mean there is alienation between the people, xenophobia and negative attitude to Russia and Russians.

On the other hand, Oazu Nantoi emphasized that not only does the Republic of Moldova feel the very strong Russia's economic impact but a humanitarian one too. He also drew attention to the issue of Moldova's energy dependence on the Russian Federation. Mr. Nantoi noted that 40 per cent of Moldova's residents are ready to vote in favor of unification with Russia. Therewith, according to the

expert's information, three fourths of the republic's residents would vote for Moldova's entry to the European Union though half of the respondents further consider Russia as Moldova's strategic partner.

Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation Nataliya Sad +38 044 230 83 76 nataliya.sad@ieac.org.ua

EXPERTS DENY ADVANTAGES OF UKRAINE’S ACCESSION TO THE CUSTOM UNION Membership of Ukraine in the Custom Union (CU) with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan will not improve the life quality of Ukrainians even in a shortterm period. Experts drew these conclusions during the round-table discussion “How will Ukraine European cooperate with the Custom Union countries?”, which took place in Kyiv on April, 21st. the event was organized by the Civic Expert Council within the Ukrainian Part of the EU-Ukraine cooperation Committee and “Centre-UA” NGO and supported by the European Programme of the International Renaissance Foundation.

According to participants, in order to provide the economic growth for the sake of Ukrainian people, the government of Ukraine should enhance the economic integration and limit its effort on territorial-targeted measures, which proved to be inefficient in a long-run period, as the international experience demonstrates.

Dmytro Liapin, Chairman of the Property and Freedom Institute, mentioned: “One possible scenario for the development of relationships between Ukraine and the CU countries is to implement the competitive advantages of Ukraine in order to sustain economic cooperation between more developed countries and the CU. For today Ukraine has such advantages, moreover, with the FTA+ between Ukraine and the EU Ukraine’s competitive capacity at the world level will be stronger than with the CU”.

According to the experts’ opinions, there are enough arguments to consider the international agreements of Ukraine’s participation in the CU not to be in compliance with the Constitution of Ukraine.

“Only the Constitutional Court of Ukraine can define the constitutionality of the decision about Ukraine’s participation in the CU. However, the Court does not provide the answers to some abstract questions, no matter how interesting or 15

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important they are. Thus, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine cannot define the constitutionality of the decision about Ukraine’s participation in the CU unless the appropriate international agreements are signed. In case the agreements are

non-constitutional, it will be necessary to change the Constitution of Ukraine,” – Robert Khorolskyy, legal expert of UkrainianEuropean Policy and Legal Advice Centre (UEPLAC), has underlined.

The experts also paid attention to a number of problems, which might arise in case Ukraine joins the CU, being a WTO member.

“The reconsideration of Ukraine’s obligations to WTO countries is theoretically possible, though is very difficult and expensive. If Ukraine accepts current import duties of the CU, these changes are to be approved by all WTO member countries (they are more than 150) and the compensations are to be paid, because the CU’s import duties are higher than those in Ukraine”, – Veronika Movchan, Research director of the Institute

for Economic Research and Policy Consulting, is reporting.

Experts warn the long-term risks of Ukraine’s participation in the CU essentially exceed all possible short-term advantages, communicated by the representatives of Russia.

Video can be found here Civic Expert Council Victoria Gumeniuk +38 067 448 02 67 vita.gumeniuk@gmail.com 16

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LEGAL EMPOWERMENT OF THE POOR: PROMOTING JUSTICE, DEVELOPING COMMUNITIES, REDUCING POVERTY

Since 2009 the International Renaissance Foundation based on the Rule of Law Program and with support of the Open Society Justice Initiative (Budapest) has been implementing the Legal Empowerment of the Poor Initiative.

The Legal Empowerment of the Poor Initiative is realized through a network of Centers of Legal Information and Counseling, which operate in small town, village and settlement communities. The Centers are created on account of International Renaissance Foundation and local governments resources. In 2011 28 Centers have been working in Ukraine.

At the present moment the Centers are the foci of legal and public activity, where people can receive qualified legal consultation, address for clarification of current

legislation, receive aid in drawing up of service documents.

Different forms of work with citizens are implemented in the Centers - these are mediation, teaching volunteers the fundamentals of human rights education and awareness work, providing Pro Bono attor-neys-at-law support in court, remote sessions to rural areas. Employees of the Centers find out and analyze systematic legal problems of communities, initiate public campaigns, and in cooperation with the state and local government bodies elaborate ways of satisfying legal needs.

24.000 Ukrainians received legal aid in the Centers during 2011.

Rule of Law Program Olga Zhmurko +38 044 482 03 63 17

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NGOs WILL MONITOR PUBLIC PROCUREMENT IN UKRAINE A large-scale discussion with participation of diplomats and experts on reforms in public procurement system in Ukraine and the other countries took place on April 19 in Kyiv. The event “Transparency of Government: Public Procurement Legislation as a Key Ele-

ment” was organized by Arseniy Yatseniuk Foundation “Open Ukraine” in cooperation with the East-East: Partnership Beyond Borders Program and the European Program of the International Renaissance Foundation.

Mr. Paolo Belli, Acting Country Director of the World Bank for Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, noted that the World Bank for a long time has been engaged in public procurement issues in Ukraine. “This is a long and unfinished process. Establishing sound procurement will take more then just a law, it will take sound monitoring mechanisms” – he said. At the same time Mr. Belli noted that “We are at the midst of the process”.

Head of Operations Section 2 of the European Union Delegation to Ukraine Jose Roman Leon Lora reminded to the participants that

saving state budget finances will result in additional finances for creation of jobs, support of innovations and development of infrastructure - this is the reason why control of effective public procurement is important.

To his mind good public procurement increases confidence between citizens and administration in political dimension. Leon Lora also admitted that the EU financial assistance to Ukraine depends on sound functioning of public procurement system. He summed up that public pro-

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curement issue is not a subject to compromises.

Head of NGO “Center UA” Oleh Rybachuk mentioned that system of public procurement in Ukraine is a litmus test for maturity of the society and government in Ukraine.

According to his words those persons who are used to misuse public procurements are eager to develop such legislation that would simultaneously include the requirements of international observers and leave the gaps for further corruption actions. Mr. Rybachuk also underlined that adoption of new public procurement legislation in Ukraine depends only on the President of Ukraine.

Guest experts from Romania, Czech Republic and Kazakhstan shared with the participants the experience of reforms in public procurement sphere conducted in their countries.

Anticorruption Coordinator of Romanian Academic Society Laura Stefan noted that it is difficult to expect from citizens actions against misuses in public procurement sphere. So, the main monitoring burden is on the shoulders of NGOs and media.

“NGOs also need assistance from international donor organizations” – underlined Ms. Stefan. She said that even ideal legislation will not prevent corruption, if nobody monitors the law implementation.

“Corruption Less” Program Coordinator of NGO “Oziveni” (Czech Republic) Martin Kamenik underlined in his presentation that civil servants sometimes ignore requests for public information in his country and even ignore court decisions. To his mind a key issue in public procurement reforms is transparency of decisionmaking process.

“Czech public procurement system is not transparent enough” - said Mr. Kamenik.

At the same time he stressed that information on tenders is not always published in cases when the size/sum of the procurement is lower than the one defined in legislation as obligatory for publication. “It is impossible to combat corruption in public procurement sphere if other problems in public policy will remain intact” - he summed up.

Executive Director of Transparency International – Kazakhstan Sergei Zlotnikov noted that it is impossible to defeat corruption in the sphere only by adopting one public procurement law. He mentioned that among the problems Kazakhstan is facing are following: low access of citizens to legislation database and constant legislation changes.

Director of Institute of Economic Research and Policy Consulting Ihor Burakovsky, while commenting foreign presentations, noted that the process of public procurement system improvement is first of all “a process”.

Mr. Burakovsky said that he is upset by the fact that all key reforms in Ukraine are implemented as a result of external pressure only and not due to pressure by actors from within the country. He also expressed hopes for more active civil society engagement in putting into life “strategic court decisions”.

Policy Report Arseniy Yatseniuk Foundation “Open Ukraine” Ruslan Kyrylenko, rk@openukraine.org The East-East: Partnership Beyond Borders Program Tetyana Kukharenko, kukharenko@irf.kiev.ua

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International Renaissance Foundation Digest

2011

WORK OF UNIVERSITY ADMISSION COMMITTEES WAS NOT TRANSPARENT

The Opora Civil Network has released its report on the results of public monitoring of the 2011 university admission campaign. The activities were supported by the Education Program of the International Renaissance Foundation.

According to experts, despite the lack of serious widespread violations, the work of admission committees of higher education institutions was generally not transparent, resulting in a number of negative effects: students did not have proper information about the admission campaign, which prevented them from exercising their right to education; students were wrongly given extra points towards admission; students were given unjustified

preferential admission; universities used inappropriate methods to attract students.

The experts also identified the following negative trends in the work of the Ministry of Education and Science, Youth and Sports during the admission campaign: ‘manual’ control over the number of government subsidized places; de facto refusal to disclose the order establishing the number of such government subsidized places; monologic way of holding discussions.

Opora Civil Network +38 044 286 26 70 info@opora.org.ua

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International Renaissance Foundation Digest

2011

"STOPPAIN" CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED IN UKRAINE

“StopPain”, a campaign aimed at promoting access to pain relief for patients with incurable diseases, has been launched in Ukraine.

The activists behind the campaign say the registration of oral morphine in Ukraine will ease the suffering of people stricken with cancer. This pain killer is currently available in Ukraine only by injection.

The tablet form hasn’t been registered in Ukraine, forcing patients to endure pain caused by the disease as well as by the injections.

The initiative was supported by the International Renaissance Foundation’s Public Health Program. “We were shocked by the number of testimonies from patients and their families about the pain they must endure during their illness. By getting proper medical care, the terminally ill can feel that they’re not humiliated by the pain and can live as

full a life as possible under such circumstances. We will help organizations and activists promote this issue so that it is resolved," program director Victoria Tymoshevska explained.

Every year nearly 428,000 people in Ukraine require pain relief and palliative care to relieve pain associated with terminal illnesses. The registration of oral morphine will significantly improve their life. For decades, oral morphine has been a key method of cancer-related pain management. It is on the World Health Organization’s list of essential medicines, meaning it is effective, safe and comparatively cost-effective.

Public Health Program Nadia Kolesnykova +38 044 461 97 09 kolesnykova@irf.ua

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International Renaissance Foundation Digest

2011

UKRAINIAN ROMA TO BE PROVIDED HELP BUILDING HOMES

Pilot housing construction projects for Roma in the Zakarpattia oblast will begin next spring. The initiative is supported by Habitat for Humanity and the International Renaissance Foundation’s Roma of Ukraine and East-East: Partnership Beyond Borders programs. The announcement was made at a November 8 press conference in Kyiv by representatives of IRF’s Roma of Ukraine Program and Roma organizations.

Part of the cost of building the homes will be paid directly by Roma families, with co-financing and organizational support to be provided by charitable organizations and local government. The project will build on Habitat’s experience in other EU countries.

“According to estimates, Ukraine is home to nearly 300,000 Roma, and they are one of the most vulnerable social groups. The lack of housing leads to health, education and employment problems,” said Natali-

ya Kyyak, the manager of the IRF Roma of Ukraine Program.

“The first Habitat projects in Zakarpattia will help those families that need to renovate their homes and already have sources of income,” said Eleanora Culcear, director of the charitable organization Blago.

In Romania Habitat has helped hundreds of Roma families obtain housing. In order to participate in the program, families must pay at least 30-50% of the full cost of the work - 15,000 euros. This has enabled Roma families to live in normal conditions, children can regularly attend school, and in the future will be able obtain a minimal level of education and employment.

Roma of Ukraine Program Natalia Kyyak +38 044 461 95 00 kyyak@irf.ua

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International Renaissance Foundation Digest

2011

ROMA IN UKRAINE DON’T HAVE PASSPORTS DUE TO LACK OF AWARENESS AND FUNDS AND DISTRUST OF THE AUTHORITIES

The roundtable “Identification Documents for Roma in Ukraine: problems and solutions” was held in Kyiv on September 20-21 with the support of the Human Rights and Governance Program of the Open Society Institute (Budapest) and the Roma of Ukraine Program of the International Renaissance Foundation.

285 Roma obtained passports, 1313 sought consultations and 20,000 members of Roma communities in 6 regions were reached within the framework of the project.

Experts identified the following problems as to why Roma do not have identification documents:

1. Legal unawareness of the need to apply for identification documents within the period stipulated by law.

2. Inability to obtain professional assistance on how to apply for new or lost identification documents.

3. Constant moving around due to the lack of documents.

4. Lack of money to pay for identification documents.

5. Distrust of the police and authorities in general.

Roma of Ukraine Program Natalia Kyyak +38 044 461 95 00 kyyak@irf.kiev.ua

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International Renaissance Foundation Digest

2011

UKRAINE'S MUSEUM COMMUNITY UNITES FOR THE SAKE OF REFORMS

March 14-16, 2011, an international conference “Civic Reform of Museum Management and Marketing” took place. It was organized by the Anti-crisis Humanitarian Program of the International Renaissance Foundation jointly with the Ukrainian Center for Museum Development and "Development of Ukraine" Charitable Foundation.

Almost 250 museum representatives from all over Ukraine became familiar with the best museum reform projects implemented in Belarus, Lithuania, Poland and Russia, as well as Kazakhstan and the U.S.A. Museum specialists drew government’s attention to the fact that museums get almost zero attention from the authorities. In times of economic recession they

receive limited funding, particularly in such areas as conservation. Museums lack professionals, information, suffer due to inadequate funding and imperfect legislation regulating entrepreneurial and charity work for the benefit of museums.

Representatives of the international organizations and diplomatic institutions came forward with an initiative to assist with organization of additional seminars and internships for museum specialists to increase their professional qualification level.

Anti-crisis Humanitarian Program Kateryna Smagliy +38 044 205 39 26 smagliy@irf.kiev.ua

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