January 23-24, 2014 – Romania – Ukraine Civic Forum, second edition
The event was jointly organized by the Romanian Center for European Policies (Romania) and the Institute of World Policy in Kiev. The Forum brought together civil society representatives from Ukraine and Romania striving to strengthen the cooperation between the two countries. This project is part of the process of sharing the Romanian expertise in the field of democratization and development policies with the countries of the EU’s Eastern Neighborhood.
Leading Ukrainian and Romanian experts and diplomats took part in the Forum: Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (2007-2009) Volodymyr Ogryzko, former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Romania (1989-1990) Sergiu Celac, Director of the Romanian Centre for European Policies Cristian Ghinea, senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation Vladimir Socor, research director of the Institute of Euro-Atlantic Cooperation Oleksandr Sushko, former EU High Level Adviser on customs issues Dorel Fronea, and others.
The aim of the forum was to support expert networks in channeling independent expertise to decision-makers from Ukraine and Romania. The meeting participants have underlined the need of resetting and re-calibrating the Romanian-Ukrainian relations by emphasizing the existing opportunities for bilateral and multilateral cooperation projects. Building a Ukrainian-Romanian partnership based on a constructive dialogue is prevented by inaccurate stereotypes and misperceptions that generate distrust and suspicion in bilateral relations. During the Forum discussions, the civil society representatives have openly engaged in tackling one of the most delicate issues of the bilateral agenda, namely the national minorities situation.