Still... Europe and democracy
Postponed, Europe Day was finally celebrated in Kyiv. The organizers managed to stage the festivities the following day after the political crisis seemed to have been finally settled in Ukraine. Previously, the Verkhovna Rada passed a number of bills opening the way for early parliamentary elections. Europe Day was originally scheduled for May 19 in Kyiv, but the political situation forced the organizing committee to postpone the festivities until a more opportune occasion. Later it was proposed to celebrate the event on Kontraktova ploshcha, but then tradition prevailed and Khreshchatyk was where the festivities took place, even if belatedly. Diplomats from various countries believe that the postponement had its effect as less people took part in the festivities than last year. Also, changes were made when selecting experts for public discussions, pop and rock groups, The Day was told by Polish Ambassador to Ukraine Jacek Kluczkowski, who added, “Fortunately we were able to celebrate Europe Day in a more or less calm atmosphere when we could see the political crisis nearing its end. This is very good because we would all want this date to be an occasion for pondering positive matters and merry making. Lithuanian Ambassador Algirdas Kumzha took part in the festivities for the second time: “True, last year the celebrations looked more impressive and there were more people present. However, we regard this event as seriously as we did last year.
We have brochures, a children’s drawing contest, even a street mini-basketball one. Well, it is the eighth day of the crisis and people were tired, so after yesterday’s breakthrough at the Verkhovna Rada a number of people went to their dachas or to the beach to lie in the sun. Nevertheless, there are very many guests.” His Latvian counterpart Andris Vilcans noted that his diplomatic mission had prepared more information materials than last year.
This year the European tent city featured 27 countries, including 24 EU members and candidates, among them Croatia, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, and Ukraine. There were special pavilions of the Representation of the European Commission, European Youth Parliament in Ukraine, etc. Europe Day ‘07 was the fifth European event, but there is also the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome establishing the European Economic Community, the first of three pillars of the European Union. All of Europe is marking this date and there was a commemorative display in the tent city. A tangible contribution to the festivities was made by Yalta European Strategy (YES), European Business Association, civic organizations, and so on. Traditionally, among the organizers were the European Union, the Representation of the European Commission of Ukraine, embassies of EU countries, the Ukrainian cabinet and foreign ministry, and Kyiv City State Administration.
Each country offered to all who wished to do so to learn more about its history, culture, and traditions. Irish bagpipes, fiery Greek tunes, Polish folk songs, impassioned Spanish melodies accompanied the guests of the European tent city, without interrupting each other. This was graphic proof of the unity-in-diversity thesis. Numerous brochures and leaflets informed about the possibilities of study and rest and recreation in these countries and people were invited to take part in various quizzes and contests. Ian Boag, head of the Representation of the European Commission of Ukraine noted among the innovative features of Europe Day ‘07 the greater number of representations and the opening of a public discussion pavilion. The latter deserves special notice as it hosted experts and diplomats who shared their views on the European process and Ukraine’s role and prospects. All those present were free to ask questions and voice their own views. Thus, the ambassadors of the countries that had recently joined the EU spoke about the advantages and shortcomings of this membership. Among the advantages the Polish ambassador mentioned considerable domestic economic growth and the sense of solidarity, while employment instability in Poland was an obvious shortcoming. The Lithuanian ambassador stressed the freedom of border crossing for people in the EU countries as a major advantage.
There were also two language schools in the European tent city, in which guests forming groups of six could learn several words or phrases in one of more than twenty languages spoken in the EU countries. For example, 14-year-old Nazar and his friends took an interest in Spanish and Finnish, and learned several phrases.
Lidia Hryhorivna attended Europe Day to learn more about EU countries because her children are planning to travel their in search of jobs. She complained that there wasn’t enough media coverage of the preparations for the event. After the date was postponed she learned about the new date by sheer chance. For Roksolana, a finance analyst, Europe Day was a good opportunity to find answers to specific questions relating to the EU; also, to learn more about different cultures. Five-year-old Zhenia, who attended the festivities with her mother, was most impressed by colorful balloons and flags.
The ceremony of opening Europe Day took place at 6 p.m. and President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission noted in his video address that last year the European Union confidently recognized and greeted Ukraine’s new role on the European arena, also as one of the EU’s priority partners.” Messages of greetings were delivered by ambassadors of EU countries and Ukrainian officials, among them Minister of Foreign Affairs Arsenii Yatseniuk. His Slovak counterpart Jan Kubis stressed that his country is supporting Ukraine on its road to the EU: “We do not want the frontier between Ukraine and Slovakia to be one between Ukraine and the European Union.”
After the Ukrainian and European anthems were performed countless yellow-blue-star-spangled balloons flew up to the blue Kyiv sky. Performances by the Ukrainian groups Druha rika and VV, also the Latvian group Brainstorm, added to the festive atmosphere.
German Ambassador to Ukraine Reinhard Schefers shared his impressions with The Day: “For me it was evidence that people love Europe and associate themselves with it. It is not just a fair but also a great benefit for all, Ukrainians as well as Europeans. Let us hope that the crisis will be over and that this will help the dialogue with Europe. Too bad the postponement of Europe Day has resulted in our activities being on a somewhat smaller scale than planned. In fact, we could show only ninety percent of what we planned to show.” As for the political situation in Ukraine, His Excellency the Ambassador expressed cautious hopes that Ukraine would find a quick way out of the crisis, although he did not think that the crisis was over at the moment.
