Committee on Foreign Affairs

The сommitteemen met  with deputies from the Social Democratic Party of the Bundestag (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands) (Germany).

The joint sitting on March 27 was led by Svitlana Zalishchuk, being also conducted with the assistance of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. During the visit, the progress of reforms in Ukraine and the formation of Germany’s foreign policy were discussed.

Svitlana Zalishchuk thanked Germany for the support of the EuroMaidan and the complicated process of reforms, noting that Ukraine is continuing to implement important changes.

Olha Bielkova raised the issue of construction of the North Stream II and its adverse consequences not only for the Ukrainian economy, but also for European security as a whole.

Victoriia Siumar stressed the relation between financing of the Russian economy through the North Stream II and the ability of Moscow to pursue an aggressive foreign policy, having levers of influence on Europe.

The German delegation’s leader Nils Schmid emphasized Ukraine's importance in foreign policy of Germany.  He also testified immutability of Germany’s support for the reform process in Ukraine and condemned Russia's actions in the Crimea and the Donbas.

Fritz Felgentreu stated that the current foreign policy of Moscow should be considered through a strong alliance between Europe and Ukraine, which includes support for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and reform process in Ukraine.

Representatives of the German delegation also stressed the acute need to strengthen anti-corruption measures to achieve Ukraine's political and economic development.

Worthy of note

The Friedrich Ebert Foundation  (Abbreviation: FES) is a German political foundation associated with the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), yet independent of it. Established in 1925 as the political legacy of Friedrich Ebert, Germany's first democratically elected President, it is the largest and oldest of the German party-associated foundations. It is headquartered in Bonn and Berlin, and has offices and projects in over 100 countries. It is Germany's oldest organisation to promote democracy, political education, and promote students of outstanding intellectual abilities and personality.

The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Academic Foundation (FES) is one of eleven organizations for the promotion of young talents (Begabtenforderwerke) in Germany. Only 1% of German students achieve a scholarship at one of the eleven organizations. It is financially funded and subsidized by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and supports students with outstanding academical and political achievements. Beyond the financial support, grantees also receive so-called ideational support, which comes from opportunities to attend political seminars, conferences, and other activities, which can be important job qualifications.

The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany. The party, led by acting Chairman Olaf Scholz since 2018, has become one of the two major contemporary political parties in Germany, along with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The SPD has governed at the federal level in Germany as part of a grand coalition with the CDU and the Christian Social Union (CSU) since December 2013.

The SPD participates in 14 state governments, seven of them governed by SPD Minister-Presidents, and as such holds the distinction of being the only political party in Germany represented in all sixteen Landtags. The SPD is a member of the Party of European Socialists, and initiated the founding of the Progressive Alliance international for social-democratic parties on 22 May 2013, after they had criticized the Socialist International for their acceptance of authoritarian parties. Established in 1863, the SPD is by far the oldest extant political party represented in the German Parliament and was one of the first Marxist-influenced parties in the world.

The current party platform of the SPD espouses the goal of social democracy, which is seen as a vision of a societal arrangement in which freedom and social justice are paramount. According to the party platform, freedom, justice, and social solidarity, form the basis of social democracy. The coordinated social mark economy should be strengthened, and its output should be distributed fairly. The party sees that economic system as necessary in order to ensure the affluence of the entire population. The SPD also tries to protect the society's poor with a welfare state. Concurrently, it advocates a sustainable fiscal policy that doesn't place a burden on future generations while eradicating budget deficits. In social policy, the SPD stands for civil and political rights in an open society.

In foreign policy, the SPD aims at ensuring global peace by balancing global interests with democratic means. Thus, European integration is one of the main priorities of the SPD. SPD supports economic regulations to limit potential losses for banks and people. They support a common European economic and financial policy. They support an environmentally sustainable growth.