NATO PA Rose-Roth seminar in Lviv, Ukraine
Lviv hosted on October 13-16 2009 a seminar of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly organized as part of the Rose-Roth Initiative. The 72nd Rose-Roth Seminar launched its Three-Day Work in Lviv under the Chairmanship of H.Ormel, NATO Parliamentary Assembly Vice-President.
The seminar, jointly organised with the Supreme Rada of Ukraine, gathers some 34 Parliamentarians from 19 countries including delegations from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, the Assembly of Kosovo, Moldova and Georgia, together with representatives from research institutes, non-governmental organizations and NATO.
The seminar focuses on Ukraine 's relations with NATO and the EU, as well as on broader regional security issues involving Russia, Belarus, Moldova and Georgia .
More than 100 representatives of twenty national parliaments of NATO member-countries, its partners, observers, inter-parliamentary institutions, non-governmental organizations and independent experts took part in the seminar.
Parliamentarians from Canada, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Turkey, and other countries included in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly discussed the issue entitled "Ukraine and issues of regional security." They also considered issues entitled "Ukraine on its way to Euro-Atlantic integration," "Challenges to stability in Eastern Europe: Transdniestria, Belarus," "NATO, Ukraine and regional context in Eastern Europe: relations with Russia," "Ukraine and energy security," "Challenges to stability in South Caucasus: Georgia."
The first day of the seminar was dedicated to the issues concerning Ukraine´s pursuit towards Euro-Atlantic integration.
O.Lavrynovych, First Vice-Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, addressed the participants of the seminar with a congratulatory address and stated that no country could secure its stable development under the conditions of present-day modern challenges without assistance, which presupposed the necessity of full-scale international cooperation. Ukraine can not provide for its security, unless it closely cooperates both with NATO, and Russia.
In his turn, H.Ormel, NATO Parliamentary Assembly Vice-President, positively appraised the level of inter-parliamentary cooperation between NATO and Ukraine, appraised the resolution of NATO Bucharest (April 2008) concerning prospects of Ukraine´s and Georgia´s membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and declared the all-round support of the Parliamentary Assembly of Ukraine´s pursuits to NATO.
Dwelling upon the Ukraine´s cooperation with NATO, M.Osnach, Director of the Foreign Ministry's NATO Department, chief reporter of the 72nd Seminar, stressed that the Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine, including its legislatively set course for NATO membership, had been determined by the civilization choice of a young independent country for the benefit of European values. According to the reporter, after the Bucharest Summit and implementation of the national Ukraine-NATO programs, the country obtained a clear-cut political prospect of membership in NATO, as well as the necessary practical tools for the achievement of the goal.
J.Sherr, another chief reporter of the Seminar, leader of the Russia and Eurasia Programme of the British Royal Institute of International Affairs, drew attention to the challenges that Ukraine is meeting on its way to the membership. He singled out three factors: "Ukraine itself" an unstable political situation in the country; negative influence of the Russian factor (according to J.Sherr, this is not the problem of Ukraine); the stand of the West (NATO) that has become less pragmatic in the struggle for a stable and secure Ukraine. Thus, the focus of NATO-Ukraine cooperation shall be shifted from the talks concerning membership and NATO Membership Action Plan to the actual practical integration.
The seminar demonstrated that NATO member countries and their partners in Ukraine and Georgia are working to balance between two competing principles: building a cooperative relationship with Russia and protecting the right of sovereign states to chart their own foreign policy course.
The meetings focused on Ukraine but also included sessions on Georgia, Moldova, Belarus and energy security.
There was broad agreement among the participants that it is necessary to build a better relationship with Russia based on mutual interests.
The session focused on Ukraine showed that it is making substantial progress on reaching NATO standards and the goals set out in the Annual National Plan. At the same time, however, there needs to be a national consensus on joining NATO and that is still lacking. As Simon Lunn from the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of the Armed Forces noted, “the whole country joins NATO, not just the military.”
Energy security and its role in the region sparked considerable discussion among the participants.
The final session of the programme focused on Georgia. Georgian vice Prime Minister Giorgi Baramidze attended the Rose-Roth Seminar of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Lviv.Baramidze addressed to the parliamentarians of the NATO member countries and Ukraine. Baramidze talked about the current reforms in the country, the Russian-Georgian conflict, the deoccupation of territories and necessary active actions to be taken by the international community, as well as about the prospects of Georgia's integration into the Alliance.
M.Kmit, Head of Lviv Regional State Administration, and A.Sadovyi, Lviv Mayor, addressed the participants of the seminar. The holding of the seminar in Ukraine is a very honorable and responsible task. The event will help popularize Lviv region and the country's Euro-integration in general, Lviv Regional State Administration reported.
The Rose-Roth program of cooperation with the parliaments of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) was initiated in 1990 by then President of the Assembly Congressman Charlie Rose and Senator Bill Roth.
Following the seminar, from 18 to 25 October, the NATO Days in Ukraine annual briefing tour took place in the cities of Kharkiv, Sevastopol, Lviv and Kyiv. The event aimed to raise NATO’s profile within Ukraine’s military academies and universities, and highlight science’s potential to enhance security.
Key NATO civilian and military staff from NATO’s Headquarters and Military Cooperation Division (MCD) attended the event, which was organised by Allied Command Transformation (ACT).
During this six-day event, cadets and faculty members learned more about NATO’s role, operations, structure, education and training, as well as the purpose of NATO’s ongoing transformation and interoperability. Following a request from the Air Force Academy in Kharkiv, this year’s programme included a session dedicated to science at NATO. The initiative was chaired by the Head of the NATO Delegation, Major General Kjell-Ove Skare, ACT Assistant Chief of Staff.
A briefing on the NATO Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Programme and examples of Ukraine’s involvement was given by Dr Susanne Michaelis, Science Communications Manager. To help the Air Force better integrate their scientific staff into the international scientific community, the idea of a workshop on space research and aerodynamic simulations was among the topics considered.
At the Naval Academy in Sevastopol, environmental security, a hotly debated issue that lies within the scope of the SPS Program, was discussed regarding the impact of naval operations on the Black Sea ecosystem. At the Army Academy, discussions showed a pointed interest in the protection of troops against armour piercing ammunition.
During the briefing tour, the Ukrainian military academies were congratulated for making significant progress in the fields of leadership and language capabilities. Maj Gen Skare emphasised that these were a prerequisite for interoperability and transformation.
A useful by-product of this event was to encourage the merging of more civil and military science initiatives that have already benefited security in peace building operations around the world.
Dialog and cooperation between NATO and Ukraine has become well-established in a wide range of areas. In particular, Ukraine has proved to be an important contributor to Euro-Atlantic security in the framework of NATO-led operations.
The NATO-Ukraine Commission which met on October 15, 2009 in Brussels at NATO Headquarters highly praised the participation of Ukraine in the international peacekeeping operations led by the Alliance. It was underlined that the country remains the only partner that takes part in all main NATO missions, aimed at the ensuring stability and security in the world: in Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan and operation “Active Endeavour” in the Mediterranean.
Reference:
1. NATO Parliamentary Assembly http://www.nato-pa.int
2. North Atlantic Treaty Organization http://www.nato.int
3. Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine http://portal.rada.gov.ua
4. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine http://www.mfa.gov.ua
5. NATO Allied Command Transformation http://www.act.nato.int/
6. PIMS Members Site https://members.pims.org (requires registration and login)