The foreign affairs committee head calls on to join forces in the external politics and pass qualitative statutes on the national security and anticorruption court
"The law on the Diplomatic Service, recently approved by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, shall give the Ukrainian diplomats highly reliable tools for protection of Ukraine's national interests," said Hanna Hopko, the Head of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs at the presentation on April 16 of the annual analytical study “Ukrainian Prism: Foreign Policy 2017”.
The committee head called on the Ukrainian authorities for a closer coordination of their actions in the energy security sector, and urged to appoint a deputy foreign affairs minister liable for such harmonization exclusively.
Among the most important foreign policy priorities she called the intensification of interaction with the West to counter the Russian aggression, the regional cooperation, including formation of the Ukraine-Georgia-Moldova Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, and the development of trade agreements with important partners.
In her view, the state should increase funding its diplomatic missions, and ambassador chairs in the key states should not be vacant for so long.
Hanna Hopko gave heed to an acute want of passing high-quality laws on the anti-corruption court and national security in the second reading, which are important both for the national security and the economic stability as well as the reliable cooperation with the IMF and NATO.
“Success of the foreign policy depends on achievements of the domestic policy and quality of the work of all branches of government with the civil society combined to protect the national interests,” concluded Hanna Hopko.
On the study
The analytical study “Ukrainian Prism: Foreign Policy 2017” has been compiled under the guidance of the Foreign Policy Council “Ukrainian Prism”, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Office in Ukraine, and the Public Council under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. This analytical study represents a systematic and comprehensive analysis of the Ukrainian foreign policy in 2017. Fifty directions were analyzed – from cooperation with key partners and international organizations to public diplomacy. Five evaluation criteria – indicators, based on the new model of research methodology, were applied. The experts have studied and assessed activities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and other institutions, involved into the creation and implementation of the foreign policy of Ukraine. This study is the third annual study.
Worthy of note
Foreign Policy Council “Ukrainian Prism”
The Foreign Policy Council “Ukrainian Prism” is a network-based non- governmental analytical center, the goal of which is to participate in providing democratic ground for developing and implementation of foreign and security policies by government authorities of Ukraine, implementation of international and nation- wide projects and programs, directed at improvement of foreign policy analysis and expertise, enhancement of expert community participation in a decision-making process in the spheres of foreign policy, international relations, public diplomacy.
The activities of the “Ukrainian Prism” are:
•provision of sustainable collaboration between the expert community and the bodies of executive and legislative power of Ukraine, which are involved in the development and implementation of the foreign policy of Ukraine;
•research on the foreign policy, diplomatic service, international relations and security, development and publication of respective recommendations;
•assistance to the state authorities of Ukraine in spreading reliable information about Ukraine abroad, creation of public diplomacy channels;
•facilitating improvement of legislation, which regulates foreign and security policy of Ukraine, the basics of diplomatic service and public diplomacy;
•informational, organizational and consulting support of public authorities, civil society organizations, educational establishments and other subjects of foreign policy and security issues.
The Foreign Policy Council “Ukrainian Prism” is officially registered as a non-governmental organization in 2015, while analytical work and research had been carried out within the network of foreign policy experts “Ukrainian Prism” since 2012. At present, the organization united more than 15 experts in the sphere of foreign policy, international relations, international security from different analytical and academic institutions in Kyiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Chernivtsi, as well as associate experts in Ukraine and abroad.
Friedrich Ebert Foundation
Friedrich Ebert Foundation is the oldest political foundation of Germany, which has had rich social-democratic tradition since the day of its foundation in 1925. The foundation was started as a political will of Friedrich Ebert, the first democratically elected president of Germany, whose name the Foundation bears.
The key activity of our political Foundation is the implementation of basic ideals and values of social democracy: freedom, justice, solidarity. The Foundation operates in close connection with social democrats and organizations of independent trade unions. As a non-profit, the Foundation organizes its activity on the principles of independence and self-governance.
At present, there are head-offices of the Foundation in Bonn and Berlin. Besides, in Federal Republic of Germany the Foundation has 6 educational centers as well as 12 county and regional offices. Apart from that, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation possesses its own library in Bonn, which comprises 650 000 volumes. “The Archives of Social Democracy” of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Bonn includes the biggest collection of materials from the history of the European labor movement.