Via Carpatia 2024: the broadcast of the forum was viewed by thousands of viewers in Ukraine and the EU.
Discussion panels Seventh International Forum of Central and Eastern Europe Via Carpatia the Espreso TV channels and the Polish public broadcaster TVP Worldwide broadcast live, stories about the event were broadcast by the Japanese TV company NHK and the German ZDF. In total, representatives of about seven dozen Ukrainian and foreign media were accredited to the Forum.
The international forum lasted for three days in Kyiv. This year, for the first time, guests of Via Carpatia were not hosted by the Carpathian region, but by the capital of Ukraine. The forum brought together leading analysts, politicians, diplomats, military personnel and experts from both countries. The delegation of parliamentarians from the Republic of Poland was headed by the head of the Polish-Ukrainian parliamentary group of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, Marcin Bosatskyi.
Cultural diplomacy, information and military security, top areas for cooperation with the EU became the topics of panel discussions at the Ukrainian-Polish meeting.
“Our common priority is the defense of Europe”, – said Vasyl Bodnar, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Poland, at the opening of the international conference. He expressed hope for Poland’s support during its presidency of the European Union next year in order to open the EU’s doors for Ukraine.
Marcin Bosatskyi, deputy of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, head of the Polish-Ukrainian parliamentary group, emphasized that there is no closer partner for Ukraine in the world than Poland.
“The strategic interests of Ukraine and Poland are common. If Ukraine is free, self-sufficient, as part of the EU and NATO, then Poland will be safer and more developed.”, – emphasized Marcin Bosatskyi.
Security and defense, as well as energy cooperation and the reconstruction of Ukraine became the topics of panel discussions, during which important statements of the speakers were heard.
Today, Ukraine is very much counting on the solidarity of our Euro-Atlantic partners, because the scale of destruction from the war reaches about 500 billion US dollars. This was emphasized by the Deputy Minister of Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine Oleksiy Ryabikin.
Deputy Minister of Energy of Ukraine Mykola Kolisnyk emphasized the importance of strategic partnership and mutual support between Ukraine and Poland: we have related gas and electricity infrastructure, common goals of “green transition” and capacity development.
People’s Deputy of Ukraine Artem Kovalev, co-chairman of the VRU deputy group on inter-parliamentary relations with the Republic of Poland, emphasized that Poland has already proven that it acts as a leading logistical and military hub for Ukraine. And after our victory, Poland’s role in the reconstruction of Ukraine will only increase.
“Legislative and executive power should work together, especially when we talk about European integration”, – emphasized People’s Deputy of Ukraine, co-chairman of the VRU deputy group on inter-parliamentary relations with the Republic of Poland Mykola Kniazhytskyi. During the Forum’s security discussions, he noted that Russia will try to destabilize Ukraine’s relations with its Western partners, the United States. And today it is Poland that has become a leader in supporting Ukraine in Europe.
“At the level of parliaments, we have an effective dialogue, we also agreed on the creation of joint groups to work in various areas, to attract funds for the restoration of our country. The decisions of their government depend to some extent on the opinion of Polish parliamentarians. Polish experience is invaluable for Ukrainians: both at the level of the state and self-government. We need this experience for European integration”, – noted Kniazhytskyi.
He also presented the activities of the Defense Information Consortium to the Forum participants. Security and defense specialists prepare analytical reports for the country’s defense needs. This is an opportunity for the state to receive the opinions of independent experts and consult with leading analysts. “Our task was to create an extremely strong expert pool that would work for the needs of Ukrainian defense and the Ukrainian state. “All-Ukrainian Democratic Forum” and “Espreso” TV channel support this initiative”, Mykola Kniazhytskyi said.
“Representing the local self-government bodies of Poland, I can say that we have something to learn from you, namely, how you work with critical infrastructure, self-defense.” – Jacek Karnowski, a member of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, emphasized during the discussion on reconstruction.
He also advised to decentralize power as much as possible. “In my opinion, the maximum power should be transferred to the lowest level, then it ensures the highest efficiency”, – said Jacek Karnovski.
Countering disinformation, hostile propaganda and attempts to divide Ukrainians and Poles became the topic of discussion in another panel of the meeting.
“The old stories that once divided us and today continue to influence our cooperation should be left to historians and removed from the agenda. Partners should act on a transparent ideological basis“, – emphasized the director and editor-in-chief of TVP World Michal Bronyatovskyi.
The participants of the Ukrainian-Polish meeting declared their intention to cooperate in strategic areas, agreed to continue the dialogue, implement joint initiatives and involve other states of Central and Eastern Europe in the partnership.
Every year, the Via Carpatia forum ends with the presentation of the Stanisław Vincenz Prize. This year’s laureate of the award named after the Polish philosopher and chronicler of the Hutsul region Stanisław Vincenz “For Humanistic Service and a Contribution to Regional Development” was a director, actor, People’s Artist of Ukraine, general director-artistic director of the Ivano-Frankivsk Drama Theater Rostyslav Derzhypilskyi.
The “Ukrainian-Polish meeting” conference was initiated by the co-chairs of the parliamentary group on inter-parliamentary relations with the Republic of Poland Mykola Kniazhytskyi (EU), Artem Kovalev (SN) and the head of the Polish-Ukrainian parliamentary group of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland Marcin Bosatskyi.
The Via Carpatia 2024 forum is organized by the NGO “All-Ukrainian Democratic Forum”, with the support of the “Renaissance” International Fund, the Ukrainian Book Institute, TVP World, Espreso.
