Delegation Reports
Outward Delegation to Ukraine
7 to12 September 2008
Delegation
John Grogan MP – leader
John Whittingdale MP
Lord Harrison
Baroness Gardner of Parkes
Lord Lea of Crondall
Emma Makey
On Sunday, 7 September, the delegation arrived at the Official Delegations Hall, Borispol Airport, in a hot and sunny Kiev.
Visiting shortly after the collapse of the ruling Parliamentary coalition, and soon after Russian military action in Georgia, the delegation had many questions for our Ukrainian hosts.
After settling into the hotel, the delegation travelled to the residence of Britain’s Ambassador, His Excellency Mr Leigh Turner, who gave a briefing on the political situation in Ukraine.
On Monday, the programme began with a tour of the Ukrainian Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada. The delegation asked questions about the functions of the Rada, and learned that the legislature has only 27 female members.
The delegation met Mr Oleh Bilorus, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, who answered questions on Ukraine’s relationship with Russia and Ukraine’s potential membership of the EU.
The delegation had a very quick tour of the National Sanctuary Sofia Kyivska, a collection of Orthodox churches situated in the centre of Kiev. Afterwards, they met Mr Anatoliy Semynoha, Chairman of the Committee on Environmental Policy, Management of Natural Resources and Chornobyl Disaster Relief. The discussions covered issues surrounding the Chornobyl accident ahead of the delegation’s visit to the region on Wednesday.
Lunch was hosted at the Hotel Kiev by Mr Bilorus, during which the delegation took the opportunity to discuss a wide range of foreign policy issues, from EU membership to relations with Turkey.
The delegation then returned to the Verkhovna Rada for a meeting with Mr Arseniy Yatseniuk, Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada. Mr Yatseniuk provided his perspective on events in Georgia, and commented upon the collapse of the government coalition in the Rada.
The day’s events concluded with a meeting with Mr Volodymyr Khandogiy, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, at which Ukraine’s prospective membership of the EU was discussed.
Tuesday commenced with a meeting with Mr Pavlo Kostenko, Chairman of the Committee on Family Affairs, Youth Policy, Sport and Tourism. The delegation noted the wide remit of the Minister, and asked many questions on issues as diverse as adoption law, preparations for the Euro 2012 football tournament, and the start of low cost flights to Ukraine.
After lunch at the hotel, the delegation attended a meeting at the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The delegation discussed issues surrounding migration with the officials, learning that many migrants travel legally into Ukraine from Asia but then attempt to cross into the EU illegally across Ukraine’s Western border. Ukraine is working closely with the EU to combat this, chiefly through the Frontex border scheme.
The delegation drove across Kiev to the Ministry of the Economy where the First Deputy Minister provided an explanation of Ukraine’s economic situation, highlighting its strength in agriculture and the difficulties of modernising the mining sector.
The Minister also detailed the challenges faced by small businesses and the impact of the global recession upon Ukraine. The delegation spent the evening at a networking party arranged by the British Council, which provided the opportunity to discuss their perspectives on Ukraine with young Ukrainians.
The delegation spent Wednesday in the city of Slavutych, approximately 150km north of Kiev. The city was built in 1987 to re-house the residents of the city of Pripyat, abandoned following the Chernobyl disaster, and is located on the edge of the radioactive exclusion zone. Because of the long bus journey from Kiev, our time was limited, but we still managed to see a great deal of the city.
We were greeted on arrival by Mr Volodymyr Udovychenko, Mayor of Slavutych, who then conducted a brief tour of the city. The delegation were then taken to the Information Centre and shown a presentation detailing Slavutych’s economic and cultural outputs.
The delegation visited the Chernobyl Museum and were moved by Slavutych’s memorial to the disaster. They also made a brief visit to the DfID funded Business Development Centre before returning to Kiev to attend the Ambassador’s garden party, which provided the opportunity to discuss the day’s events with other guests.
The first meeting on Thursday was with Lieutenant General Aleksandr Melnikov, State Border Administration of Ukraine. The delegation were shown a short presentation, outlining the challenges faced by policing the Ukrainian border and implementing the EU-funded Frontex border protection programme. Lieutenant General Melnikov expressed concern that Ukraine still requires technical support in order to fulfil its international border obligations.
The delegation travelled across the city centre to the premises of the British Council, where they met Mr Terry Sandell, Director of the British Council Ukraine. The discussions included the recent closure of the British Council office in St Petersburg and various projects undertaken to develop English language provision in Ukraine, from university partnerships to direct access courses in the Rada.
Afterwards, the delegation met alumni of the John Smith Memorial Trust Educational Development Programme and were interested to hear their views on current events in Ukraine.
After lunch, the delegation visited the National Art Museum of Ukraine, viewing works ranging from 18th century paintings to contemporary sculpture.
The delegation returned to the Verkhovna Rada for a meeting with the leadership of the Party of the Regions, and a final meeting with Landkom Int Company, a British organisation investing in agricultural land in Western Ukraine. The day concluded with a cocktail party hosted by the Ukrainian-British City Club at the Photo Gaidai gallery.
Before departing Ukraine on Friday 12 September, the delegation toured the Kyiv-Pechersk Historical and Cultural Sanctuary, a collection of churches overlooking the River Dnepr. The delegation landed at Gatwick at 6pm, having thoroughly enjoyed their visit.
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