Enhancing NATO-Ukraine Cooperation: Short-Term Actions

Strengthening democratic institutions

• Using available resources from NATO, Allies, and other interested institutional partners like the Geneva Centre for Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF), expand Joint Working Group on Defence Reform (JWGDR) efforts to help the new leadership strengthen executive, legislative, and public oversight of defence and security sector institutions with which NATO is engaged in co-operative activities.
• Receive and evaluate information and exchange views on efforts to enhance media freedom and electoral and judicial reform, including by inviting relevant Ukrainian ministries and agencies to provide regular briefings.
• Use this year's annual assessment of Ukraine's Action Plan implementation to provide a comprehensive review of achievements since its adoption in 2002, offering specific guidance on outstanding reform needs.
• Fully utilise Action Plan (AP)/Annual Target Plan (ATP) mechanisms (using existing NATO-Ukraine channels at all levels) to provide positive feedback on successes in this area, as well as constructive criticism and recommendations as necessary.

Renewing political dialogue

• Broaden the scope of issues to be discussed in NATO-Ukraine meetings in all levels in the NATO-Ukraine Commission (NUC) format, to include all areas outlined in the Charter and AP.
• Undertake to hold discussions of specific common political and security concerns, particularly regarding frozen conflicts (e.g., Transdniestria).
• Offer a more regular frequency of substantive exchanges with Ukraine (e.g., through a regular calendar of issue-driven NUC meetings at all levels) to inform and focus targeted practical co-operation. This would include work toward enhanced operational co-operation in key areas (including in the framework of Operation Active Endeavour, ISAF, KFOR and the NATO Training Mission-Iraq), as well as intensifying consultations on arms control, export controls and non-proliferation (including exploration of a possible Ukrainian contribution to Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) defence).
• Improve the preparation of high-level meetings by using the Political Committee in NUC format for that purpose, and to develop substantive issues.
• Increase public awareness of enhanced political dialogue between Ukraine and NATO, using the full range of public diplomacy instruments available.

Reinvigorating co-operation in defence and security sector reform

• In the context of the JWGDR Work Plan for 2005, develop activities to assist Ukraine in conducting a comprehensive national security review of the missions, tasks and functions of all security institutions with which NATO is engaged in cooperative activities.
• Assist in the reform of the intelligence sector according to Euro-Atlantic standards, through enhanced exchanges of experience and expertise between Ukraine and NATO member states; support enhancement of the capabilities of the Ukrainian intelligence services in the struggle against terrorism.
• At the working level, enhance the provision of Allied expertise (both International Staff(IS)/International Military Staff (IMS) and national experts) to support the urgent work of implementing Ukraine's reform plans, including the demilitarisation of internal security structures,while initiating a fundamental review of co-operation in light of how the new Ukrainian administration defines Ukraine's longer-term needs.
• Assist Ukraine in developing civilian personnel to be employed in both key and expert positions in Ukrainian security institutions, including the National Security and Defence Council (NSDC).
• Follow up on specific requests for information and specific possibilities identified for expert twinning, while developing a wider programme under the JWGDR.
• Consult with all relevant structures of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence (MoD) and NSDC to encourage broad co-ordination of reform plans, and to determine specific needs for defence planning expertise in developing mid-term programmes.
• Hold conferences, workshops and seminars on defence policy/strategy and defence economics issues with the involvement of experts from Allied capitals to assist Ukraine in strengthening policy formulation capacities and increasing civil society expertise and oversight capacity.
• Leverage the NATO Defence College’s (NDC) relationship with Ukraine’s National Defence Academy to enhance the capability of the latter to generate innovative thinking on issues of importance for defence reform. This could include, inter alia, increasing the number of Ukrainian officers participating in NDC programmes.

Enhancing and targeting public diplomacy efforts

• In cooperation with the Ukrainian authorities, seek to address negative public perceptions of NATO in all regions of Ukraine, including by making available Russian-language versions of NATO-Ukraine publications.
• Increase awareness of positive developments in NATO-Ukraine cooperation, including in the defence sector, as well as of NATO-Russia cooperative activities in the framework of the NATO-Russia Council (NRC).
• Develop, together with the Ukrainian authorities, a concrete public diplomacy strategy involving Ukrainian civilian and military officials, parliamentarians and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) on one side, and NATO officials, high-level Allied representatives and experts on the other.
• Undertake a series of seminars for interested personnel of relevant Ukrainian ministries and for media representatives, academics and public opinion-makers, aimed at developing greater public understanding of NATO issues.
• Using the NATO Information and Documentation Centre, the NATO Liaison Office and the NATO Contact Point Embassy, increase the frequency and visibility of high‑level visits to Ukraine by both Allied representatives and the IS/IMS, to assist in disseminating NATO information and key messages.

Enhancing support to address the socio-economic impact of defence reform

• At the working level, enhance the provision of Allied expertise to support the urgent work of developing and implementing Ukrainian military and security forces’ release, retirement and resettlement programmes, to include in particular:
  • expert support for an assessment of needs and the development of a comprehensive retraining/resettlement plan;
  • increased practical support to concrete retraining programmes in 2005 and 2006; and
  • explore means of addressing Ukraine’s retraining needs in the longer term.
• Provide expert advice to Ukraine’s defence industrial complex to help it adapt to new market realities, convert to civilian production, and integrate into the Euro-Atlantic market environment, including through the application of Euro-Atlantic standards in arms export controls.
• Work to ensure that additional resources are found for the PfP Trust Fund for the destruction of surplus small arms/light weapons (SALW) andmunitions, so that the first phase of destruction can be undertaken as soon as possible. Explore additional co-operation in the area of munitions safety and security.