The Experts for Security and Global Affairs Association and its partners in Ukraine, Strategic and Security Studies Group and Ukrainian Foreign Council “Prism” continue to support the efforts of political actors and civil society to contribute to the proper development of bilateral partnership between Romania and Ukraine. Thus, between July 2021 – April 2022, the partner organizations will implement the “Romanian – Ukrainian Civil Society Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation. Third edition” project, with the support of the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation, a project of the German Marshall Fund.
This project aims to increase the cooperation and role of the expert community and civil society actors in elaborating common perceptions and objectives in the bilateral dialogue between Romania and Ukraine. The partners will further strengthen and widen the contacts between the experts, civil society activists, public institutions representatives and sharing best practices in tackling the issues mentioned above during the third edition of the annual bilateral Romania-Ukraine Civil Society Forum format.
The partner organizations will organize the third annual meeting of the “Romanian – Ukrainian Civil Society Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation” through this initiative. Also, we intend to organize debates of the main problems, challenges, opportunities for bilateral dialogue, both through online events, study visits, and formally, through policy recommendations, to which experts from Romania, Ukraine, and the Republic of Moldova should contribute.
In its third edition, the Forum will still offer one of the most consistent discussion platforms for the main dilemmas in the bilateral dialogue between Romania and Ukraine and multiple other regional challenges, including the Republic of Moldova. The experts involved in organizing the annual event define policy proposals and recommendations; explain to the general public the priorities of bilateral cooperation and the opportunities to be addressed by both decision-makers and citizens of the two neighbouring states. The partners act as an early warning mechanism for the dilemmas in the bilateral dialogue when elements appear in the information space that aims at suppressing the cooperation, highlighting the practical, positive aspects of the bilateral cooperation between Romania and Ukraine. Identifying problems, propaganda elements, potential risks – are also part of the monitoring process organized by partner organizations. In this sense, the experts’ contribution is consistent and formalized through policy briefs, information materials about the most critical events, public interventions, and video materials. We contribute with relevant information to define objectives and priorities in the same bilateral dialogue.
The priorities for the next period are multiple. They refer both to the challenges and sensitivities of the bilateral dialogue and the threats posed by the aggression of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, and how this aggression influence security in the Black Sea region. Moreover, the project partners will monitor how the pandemic situation will influence further the bilateral cooperation.
In the third edition of the project, we aim to address the following topics: Russian aggression in Ukraine and the constant challenges to the sovereignty of Ukraine and the security of the region, the Crimean Platform for – how this format can influence the conflict resolution in Eastern Ukraine, but also other mechanisms; regional cooperation, technical-military cooperation between Romania and Ukraine – progress and challenges, opportunities for economic and energy collaboration – how the partner countries can assess the progress, new priorities for cross-border cooperation in the context of the launch of the new budgeted period of the European Union (2021-2027), European integration progress, can Romania and Ukraine support the Republic of Moldova to face security challenges, how will the results of the early parliamentary elections in this country influence the bilateral but contextual dialogue on regional security?
The project partners will expand ad-hoc topics addressed in the online sessions according to the identified challenges for the bi- and multilateral dialogue, which also involves other states in the region. We intend to reduce the information gap and the negative impact of external propaganda actions and support the public authorities’ efforts in Romania and Ukraine for an honest and open dialogue towards a new partnership stage.