European Economic and Social Committee

PRESS RELEASE No 081/2008 / 29 September 2008

European Economic and Social Committee

The EESC takes forward the cooperation among civil society in Ukraine and the EU

On 2-3 October 2008, in Kyiv, a workshop "Involving civil society in the EU – Ukraine relations" will provide a new opportunity for the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), the Ukrainian National Tripartite Social and Economic Council (NTSEC) and the Ukrainian civil society to exchange views on how to involve civil society in the current negotiation of a new EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.

EU Commissioner for External Relations, Ms Benita Ferrero-Waldner has stated: "Our wish for a deeper relationship with Ukraine is not only about activities for governments and institutions, it is about people. It is essential to bring our communities, our youth, our students, and civil society closer together."

The participants at the workshop will be addressed byMs Lyudmyla Denisova, Minister of Labour and Social Policy of Ukraine, Mr Myhailo Papiev, Head of the subcommittee of the Parliament of Ukraine,Mr Yuriy Boyko, Head of the Federation of Employers of Ukraine, MrValeriy Chaly, Chairman of the Ukrainian Civil Society Expert Council, and others.

Chairman of the EESC section for External Relations Mr Filip Hamro-Drotz says that "the workshop is an important leap forward in the relations between the EESC and its Ukrainian counterpart, the NTSEC". A concrete objective of this meeting will be to elaborate proposals to create an EU-Ukraine civil society Joint Body that would become part of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. The workshop would also clearly voice the interests and aspirations of Ukrainian and European civil society in the European Neighbourhood Policy.

The EESC is a consultative body advising the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. It consists of 344 members nominated from the EU member states from employers, employees and various interests groups of civil society.

The NTSEC was established in 2006 as an advisory and consultative body under the President of Ukraine. The NTSEC is composed by 64 representatives of the trade unions, employers’ organizations and the Ukrainian Government.

The workshop will take place on 2-3 October at Opera Hotel 53, B. Khmelnitskogo Street, Kyiv01054. The working languages of the workshop will be English, French and Ukrainian.

For more details, please contact:
Karel Govaert at the EESC Press Office,
99 rue Belliard, B-1040 Brussels
Tel.: +32 2 546 9396/9586; Mobile: +32 475 75 32 02
Email:
Website:
Press Releases:
(English)
(French)
The European Economic and Social Committee represents the various economic and social components of organised civil society. It is an institutional consultative body established by the 1957 Treaty of Rome. Its consultative role enables its members, and hence the organisations they represent, to participate in the Community decision-making process. The Committee has 344 members, who are appointed by the Council of Ministers.