5 Dec. 2005

Helping Ukrainian ex-military return to civilian life Background Ukraine-NATO relations Partnership for Peace Trust Fund NATO is preparing to step up assistance aimed at retraining and resettling military personnel made redundant by the restructuring of Ukraine’s armed forces. The Ukrainian armed forces are being downsized progressively as part of wider defence reforms and plans to move towards an all-volunteer service by 2011. Following cuts of 40 000 servicemen in 2004 and similar reductions in 2005, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence currently plans further gradual reductions of 102 000 personnel over the 2006-2011 period. Ukraine has asked for international assistance both in the development of effective policy and the sponsorship of retraining programmes. NATO assistance is being developed along three main axes: a NATO-funded retraining programme, a Partnership for Peace Trust Fund project, and expert help for Ukraine in developing a comprehensive resettlement programme. Specialised courses Over the past five years, NATO has financed and helped Ukraine manage a retraining programme that focuses on linguistic and specialised professional courses for some 100 former military personnel per year. Since 1999, 37 language courses (English, French, German or Italian) and 14 business courses have been organised in Kyiv and several regional cities. A proposal is currently being considered to double the funding for this programme in 2006, bringing it to €300 000. Kmelnitsky centre In September 2005, the Netherlands agreed to lead a NATO-Partnership for Peace Trust Fund project for the retraining and resettlement of 600 redundant military personnel at a centre in Kmelnitsky, western Ukraine. The project will ensure the continuation of an existing programme initiated in 2003 by the United Kingdom. The Kmelnitsky Retraining Centre runs courses in the areas of management, marketing, computer systems and computer technology. Following graduation, the Centre provides support for job placement, through maintenance of a database of vacancies, job fairs and individual support. As of May 2005, 77 per cent of graduates had found employment. Due to start in 2006, the Trust Fund project will run over three years with an estimated cost of €430 000. The Netherlands has committed itself to funding €132 000; another NATO country, Bulgaria , is contributing €15 000; and Finland , one of Ukraine ’s fellow partner countries in the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, has agreed to support the project with €25 000. The United Kingdom will continue to support the programme by making available equipment previously purchased for the project. Expert advice In response to a letter from Ukraine ’s Defence Minister in May 2005 requesting increased assistance in the resettlement of former military personnel, NATO’s Secretary General has expressed NATO’s readiness to provide expert support to help Ukraine ’s Ministry of Defence develop a comprehensive resettlement programme. For this to go ahead, the Ukrainian authorities first need to provide an assessment of their needs and present their vision for future policy in this field. These three axes of complementary activities are aimed at helping Ukraine manage the social and economic consequences of defence reform. Cooperation in this area was highlighted as a priority in the package of short-term actions that was launched in April 2005, in parallel with the Intensified Dialogue on Ukraine’s aspirations to NATO membership.