The Council of Europe Office in Ukraine opened its doors for the Open Day to showcase its work dedicated to supporting reforms in human rights, democracy, and the rule of law as part of Ukraine’s path to European Union accession.
The event, held on 27 February 2025 in Kyiv, brought together representatives of Ukrainian authorities, international organisations, and ambassadors from Council of Europe member states and observer states, including donor states that financially support the Organisation’s efforts in Ukraine.
During this event, more than 60 guests toured the Office and were presented with 36 projects currently being implemented under the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” for 2023-2026. The estimated budget of the action plan exceeds 67 million euro, making it the largest action plan in the history of the Organisation.
Launching the Open Day, Maciej Janczak, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, expressed gratitude to the international partners and donor states for their voluntary contributions, which support the Council of Europe in its unprecedented activities in Ukraine.
“The idea of the meeting is to show the work we do to all our partners, to all our donors, and those, who support the Council of Europe and values we represent. We open the doors of our office to let you interact with the real people who implement the projects that are so important for the future of Ukraine,” he emphasised.
Representatives of Ukrainian authorities highly appreciated the assistance of the Council of Europe on Ukraine’s path to European integration, as well as the important steps taken in response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. In particular, this relates to the issues of the Special Tribunal for Ukraine and the establishment of the Register of Damage for Ukraine.
“We praise the Council of Europe for its leadership in holding the aggressor accountable, as well as for supporting reforms,” underlined Oleksandr Karasevych, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
The guests expressed their enthusiasm for the event and the achievements of the project teams that were presented.
“The work of the Council of Europe in Ukraine is absolutely fundamental, especially during these challenging times for Ukraine, as we keep assisting Ukraine on the path of democracy, on the path to Europe,” said Luc Jacobs, Ambassador of Belgium to Ukraine.
“We are supporting the Council of Europe action plan for Ukraine, and we highly value the important work done by the Council of Europe to strengthen democracy and the rule of law in Ukraine, protect human rights and implement many other projects, such as participation of youth, local self-government, and strengthening the resilience of democracy in war times,” underlined Félix Baumann, Ambassador of Switzerland to Ukraine.
“The Council of Europe is not only a partner but is also a reference, particularly in relation to standards. The standards that this Organisation has in terms of decentralization, human rights, and the rule of law are the same standards the EU is following and promoting in Ukraine,” summarised Asier Santillian, Head of European Integration, Governance and Rule of Law, and Civil Society at the EU Delegation to Ukraine.
