The 55th General Assembly of the Atlantic Treaty Association in Kiev, Ukraine
From October 7 to 10, 2009, the 55th General Assembly of the Atlantic Treaty Association took place this year in Kiev, Ukraine.
The decision for the General Assembly to be held in Kiev was decided during the 53rd GA in Ottawa, Canada, and was certified in the 54th GA in Berlin, Germany.
Mr Theodossis Georgiou, President of the Greek Association for Atlantic and European Cooperation had supported the choice for the 55th GA to be held in Kiev this year. He also presided the Committee for Energy & Financial Security in the Wider Black Sea Area.
Mr Georgiou pointed out that “what is needed is a strong and effective partnership between EU and Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) which will be based upon common economic, political, and cultural values”. And he continued about the EU involvement in BSEC that “.It seems that there are no less than six arguments of importance.
1. With Bulgaria, and Romania accession to EU and the potential Turkish entry, the EU has become a major Black Sea actor.
2. There is the interest for the EU’s security of energy supply, which calls for cooperation and political stability surrounding the transport routes for oil and gas.
3. The EU is going to be investing very heavily in environmental policies in its new member states, and the Danube water is the one of the most important frameworks for this.
4. The EU is interested in the resolution of the several conflicts in the Caucasus region and the progressive shift of this region into modern modes of cooperative behavior between nations and ethnic communities. BSEC is a framework that can facilitate this shift, and already maintains multilateral collaboration between some nations of the region that do not at present have cooperative bilateral relations.
5. Vis-à-vis Russia, the EU is interested in extending as widely as possible the mode of cooperative relations and the Black Sea region can usefully complement the progress made already in the Northern Dimension in establishing regional cooperation across the frontiers of the enlarging EU where these reach or approach Russia, whether to the North or South.
6. Vis-à-vis Ukraine, the EU is interested in deepening cooperative arrangements that are not in any way divisive for this country or Europe as a whole.
The Europe of tomorrow shall be free of dividing lines. The BSEC and in particular the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC) can play a very important role in the creation of the necessary links between the European Union and the Black Sea, the Caspian and the Eastern Mediterranean regions, thus contributing to the establishment of a new pan-European architecture of the 21st century.
Meeting of Mr Georgiou with Ukrainian Alumni of TFAS-GAAEC Programs
The President of GAAEC, as he usually does while he visits a country invites the Alumni of TFAS/GAAEC programs.
During his visit in Kiev he had the chance to meet with the Ukrainian Alumni students of AIPES, EJI and EMJI programs, in order to discuss about their studies and their future. Many of them had to travel more that 300 miles in order to be present and discuss with Mr Georgiou.
He also secured for the Alumni to participate in the sessions of the 55th General Assembly in Kiev. The Alumni that took part in the discussion with Mr Theodossis Georgiou and participated in the 55th GA in Kiev were: Ms Alexandra Tsyliya, Ms Alina Boyko, Mr Anton Bakhtyr, Ms Alla Myshalova, Mr Mykhailo Shelemba, Ms Ievgeniia Kutsa and Ms Lidiya Yevmenchikova.
For more information about the 55th General Assembly of ATA:
English
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