A two-day training for civil servants engaged in Ukraine’s EU accession process in the field of rule of law took place in Kyiv

The training, organized by the Netherlands Institute of International Affairs Klingendael with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands in cooperation with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and the Ministry of Justice, aims to strengthen the skills of Ukrainian civil servants involved in the negotiation process of Ukraine’s accession to the EU, in particular before the upcoming opening of negotiating chapters 23 and 24 “Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights and Freedoms” and “Justice, Freedom, Security”.

Ambassador of the Netherlands to Ukraine Jens de Mol welcomed the participants of the event and noted the commitment of Ukrainian experts to the path of European integration and their readiness to move quickly and dynamically in the negotiation process. The Dutch diplomat, who is completing his diplomatic cadence in Ukraine, assured of his country’s support for Ukraine on its path to EU membership.

In addition, the ambassador reminded that today is the tenth year since the downing of the Malaysian Airlines MH17 passenger plane in the Ukrainian sky by a Russian missile. According to him, Russia must be justly punished for this crime and for all acts of terror committed on our land.

Deputy Minister of Justice for European Integration of Ukraine Lyudmyla Sugak also delivered opening remarks. She thanked international partners for their continued support of Ukraine on its European integration path.

The event was attended by about 30 representatives of ministries, departments and state institutions of Ukraine.

On the first day of the training, Ukrainian civil servants addressed the following issues, among other issues:

• Challenges at different stages of the EU accession process;
• Experience of previous waves of enlargement;
• Requirements and challenges in the context of negotiating Chapters 23 and 24;
• Interaction with EU partners and principles of effective accession negotiations;
• The role of DG NEAR and sectoral directorates general in the accession process.

The second day was devoted to discussing the status of Ukraine’s approximation to the rule of law standards and challenges on this path, and simulations of the negotiation process with members of the negotiating teams were held.

The sessions are conducted by experts from the Klingendael Institute of International Relations, the Netherlands, who are responsible for the development and implementation of the program. The experts have experience in conducting high-level training on EU accession for the Western Balkan countries, as well as specialized diplomatic and EU relations training for Ukraine and Moldova.

Following the two-day training, participants received certificates of successful completion of the course.