CONFERENCE 7-9 JUNE 2006 RZESZOW-KRAKOW

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE CONFERENCE

The project titled "Beyond the borders. Ukraine and European Neighborhood Policy" is co-financed by the European Commission within the Jean Monnet Action. The priority theme of the conference relates to the process of enlargement of the European Union and the neighbourhood policy. The proposed event is to provide an interdisciplinary forum for exploring the current state of transformation towards democracy and a market economy in Ukraine, the EU - Ukraine relations and the EU neighbourhood policy towards Ukraine.

The conference is to achieve three basic aims:

• developing and popularizing interdisciplinary research on political, economic and social transformation in Ukraine, the EU - Ukraine relations and the EU neighbourhood policy as well as providing a space for discussing options for Ukraine's further cooperation with the EU;
  
• creating the opportunity for interdisciplinary dialogue between researchers from the Member States of the EU and its bordering country of Ukraine;
  
• activating young researchers dealing with issues mentioned above and supporting them in presenting results of their research.

MAIN ACTIVITIES

The main activities of the project will be held in June 2006 but the preparation of the conference has already started. The conference will be divided into two basic parts.
First part titled TRANSFORMATION will be dealing with domestic developments in Ukraine and will cover such themes:

1. political transformation and democracy building in Ukraine:

• new government formation and its agenda, party system,
• state - society relations, interest group activities, governance and civil society,
• reforms of the legal and administration system,
• human rights and protection of the minorities,

2. economic reforms:

• macroeconomic policies and economic restructuring, foreign trade,
  
• industry, agriculture, energy, transport, environment,
  
• institutional reforms,
  

3. social and cultural aspects of living in Ukraine.

Second part titled COOPERATION AND INTEGRATION will be dealing with the European Neighbourhood Policy and the prospects for Ukraine's integration with the EU and will concern things as follows:

1. the EU - Ukraine relations and the European Neighbourhood Policy:

• Ukraine and EU cooperation in political, economic, trade and environmental spheres,
  
• consequences of the recent 2004 EU's enlargement for Ukraine,
  
• new EU external border etc.
  2. prospects for Ukraine's cooperation and integration with the EU:
• opportunities, benefits and costs of deeper economic and political integration between Ukraine and the EU,
• assosiation or membership option,
• areas of needed adjustments.

VENUES

The conference will be organised in two different places. Panels connected with process of transformation in Ukraine will be held in Rzeszow at the University of Information Technology and Management (2 days). Panels dealing with the ENP and Ukraine's prospects for integration with the EU will take place in partner organisation in Cracow at the Tishner European University (1 day).

THE FUNDAMENTAL INFORMATION ABOUT JEAN MONNET ACTION.

The Jean Monnet Action is a European Commission initiative that encourages universities to teach specific courses on European integration. It has three main components:

1. Stimulating academic excellence in the field of European integration studies through the support for new teaching, research and debate activities at university level;
2. fostering academic reflection on current policy priorities in the field of European integration via centralized high-level conferences and thematic groups (bringing together Jean Monnet professors, policy-makers and civil society in Brussels) and support for decentralized reflection activities all over the world;
3. supporting major institutions active in the study of European integration.
In the framework of the Jean Monnet Action, the term European integration studies is taken to mean the study of the construction of the European Community which led to the European Union and the institutional, legal, political, economic and social developments related to this process.

The Jean Monnet Action supports the following types of activities:

• Jean Monnet conferences
• Support for teaching activities
• Support for research activities
• Grants for young researchers
• Support for the national associations and networks of lecturers
• Support major institutions.