The European Commission follows the talks very closely. We are concerned but remain confident that an agreement will be reach and that both Russia and Ukraine will honour their commitments to supply European gas markets.

European Commissioner for Energy, Andris Piebalgs, decided today to convene a meeting of the Gas Coordination Group next Wednesday in Brussels. This group is foreseen by Article 7 of Council Directive 2004/67/EC of 26 April 2004, concerning measures to safeguard security of natural gas supply. The purpose of this meeting is to have a coordinated approach of the Commission and the member States and to be ready to face all eventualities.

Even if a limited part of European supplies were to be interrupted, given the level of gas stocks and supplies from other areas this would not cause an energy crisis in Europe in the short and medium term.

The firm commitment of the new Ukrainian government of Ukraine to our shared values made 2005 an unprecedented year in EU-Ukraine relations. Since the launch of the EU – Ukraine Action Plan on 21 February our relationship has been on a new path and throughout the year the EU and Ukraine have worked hard to deliver concrete results to this effect. The perception of Ukraine in the EU has dramatically changed.

The European Commission today launched a Call for Proposals "Fostering Culture of Human Rights" for Micro-Projects in Ukraine under the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights. The overall amount available under this call for proposals is EUR 465.000. Grants to be awarded can be between EUR 50.000 and EUR 100.000. The deadline for applications is 28 February 2006.

For application details please see: http://www.delukr.ec.europa.eu/site/page37669.html

In the light of EC micro grant call for proposals, EC Project “Strengthening Civil Society” continues to provide technical assistance to local NGOs applying for this program. After group consultations took place in program’s target regions, and individual consultations are still going on upon request, Social Partnership Centre (SPC) Chernivtsi has further organized a meeting of three client NGOs to cooperate in writing a joint project proposal.

Protection and care of children should be the principal objective for any State since children are the guarantee of the nation’s future development. Through investment in children, the State can build a productive workforce, can secure stability of social welfare systems and ensure that future citizens are able to man age state and civil affairs.

The Project “Improvement of logistic services and marketing channels for SMEs in agriculture” participated in the second International Conference “Fruits and Vegetables in Ukraine 2005” which was held in December 5-7 2005 in Kiev. This conference was organized by the USAID-funded Agricultural Marketing Project and Ukrainian Information Agency “APK-Inform”.

The Delegation of the European Commission to Ukraine is willing to intensify its dialogue with the concerned Ukrainian partners on agriculture on related technical assistance, and is exploring opportunities for application of a sector approach to planning, designing and sequencing projects in that field. In this context the Delegation has launched a project ‘Agriculture Sector Assessment in a View of Preparation of an EU-funded Agriculture Sector Programme in Ukraine’. The project is implemented by ECORYS Netherlands.

A joint event – consultation on European Commission’s Micro Grant Program was conducted on 29^th November 2005 in Lutsk by Volyn regional office of the EC Project “Assisting regional development in Ukraine” and Rivne Social Partnership Center of the EC project “Strengthening Civil Society”.

Logistics of the event was provided by coordinator of the EC Project “Assisting regional development in Ukraine” in Volyn region, Evheniya Varenchuk. Staff of the Rivne Social Partnership Center - Serhiy Pinchuk and Olga Kashevska – consulted on the EC Micro Grant program, analyzing changes introduced by the EC Delegation, explaining in detail program documents and providing advice on project proposals design and other aspects that were of interest to participants.

The event was conducted in Volyn Regional State Administration’s conference hall and gathered approximately 60 participants – representatives of NGOs, rayon state administrations, city councils and mass media of Volyn region. Svitlana Remyzovska - deputy head of the department of labor, social issues and population’s protection of the Chernobyl catastrophe ramifications - greeted participants. She reported on the condition of social services provision in the region and opportunities of using Micro Grant Program for agents of the social sphere in Volyn. Zinaida Gordienko – deputy head of the department of internal politics, NGO and mass media relations of Volyn Regional State Administration – stressed in her speech professionalism of non-profit organizations in providing social services to population and their important role in social policy implementation.

Participants of the consultation – representatives of Volyn non-profit organizations - expressed hope for Rivne Social Partnership Center of the EC Project «Strengthening Civil Society» together with Volyn Regional office of the EC Project «Assisting regional development in Ukraine» to organize individual consultations in Lutsk.

The EC Project “Strengthening Civil Society” provides technical assistance to NGOs up to and during implementation of EC funded micro project program aimed at the implementation of socially oriented small projects in 9 regions of Ukraine. For more information, please visit our web site www.civilsociety.org.ua.

Contact person:

Serhiy Pinchuk
Head of SPC Rivne
spinchuk@civilsociety.org.ua

Prime Minister Tony Blair, representing the EU Presidency, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko today signed, on the margins of the EU-Ukraine Summit, a Memorandum of Understanding on co-operation in the field of energy between Ukraine and the European Union.

On this occasion, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso declared: “The integration of our energy markets is a strategic step towards enhancing the energy security of the European continent and reinforcing the ongoing reform process in Ukraine”.

Government leaders meeting in the EU-Ukraine Summit have decided to extend the Ukraine-EU partnership to cover Europe’s satellite radionavigation programme GALILEO. The agreement was signed today in Kiev by Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov for Ukraine, by Prime Minister Tony Blair for the EU Presidency and by President José Manuel Barroso for the European Commission. Jacques Barrot, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of transport, noted: “Ukraine is one of the few countries that has developed a wide expertise in global satellite positioning technologies and its participation is an important step for the development of GALILEO as an international programme”.

The EU signed today an aviation agreement with Ukraine which will allow European airlines to fly between any EU Member State and Ukraine. “After the first agreement signed with Chile in October, this new agreement gives all EU airlines access to the air transport market between any EU Member State and Ukraine. At the same time, it paves the way for a closer integration of Ukraine into European aviation structures”, said European Commission Vice-President Jacques Barrot, in charge of transport. The agreement was signed today in Kiev by Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov for Ukraine, by Prime Minister Tony Blair for the EU Presidency and by President José Manuel Barroso for the European Commission.

The leaders of the European Union and Ukraine met in Kiev today for the EU-Ukraine Summit, the first such meeting since the election of President Yushchenko. Leaders welcomed the fact that commitment to democracy and reform had opened new prospects for Ukraine and EU-Ukraine relations.

Leaders welcomed that EU-Ukraine relations were now deeper and stronger as a result of the significant progress achieved in implementation of the EU-Ukraine Action Plan, signed by the two parties on 21 February 2005. The EU welcomed Ukraine’s firm commitment to shared values of democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights; and recognised the progress made in promoting economic reforms. Leaders also stressed the need to continue the reform process.