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Page Updated:
03-Sep-2006
Frequently
Asked Questions about Q. What is special about NATO-Ukraine relations? A. NATO's relationship with Ukraine began to develop soon after independence in 1991 when she immediately became a member of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council. Ukraine joined the Partnership for Peace programme in 1994, and was among the founding members of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) in 1997. Also in 1997, at a meeting in Madrid, Spain, NATO leaders and President Kuchma signed a "Charter for a Distinctive Partnership Between NATO and Ukraine". In the Charter the member countries of NATO reaffirmed their support for Ukrainian sovereignty and independence, as well as its territorial integrity, democratic development, economic prosperity and status as a non-nuclear weapons state, and the principle of inviolability of frontiers. During the Prague summit in November 2002, the NATO-Ukraine Action Plan and the NATO-Ukraine Annual Target plan were adopted during a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission at the level of Foreign Ministers, although the Charter on a Distinctive Partnership remains the basic foundation of the NATO-Ukraine relationship. It helps to identify clearly Ukraine's strategic objectives and priorities in pursuit of its aspirations towards full integration into Euro-Atlantic security structures, and to provide a strategic framework for existing and future NATO-Ukraine cooperation under the Charter. In support of the Charter there are many areas for consultation and cooperation between Ukraine and NATO, in particular through joint seminars, joint working groups and other cooperative programmes, covering a broad range of topics. Among these is the NATO-Ukraine Joint Working Group on Scientific and Environmental Cooperation, which is now meeting in Kyiv, for the first time in the format of the NATO Science Committee. Q. You mentioned the NATO Science Committee. Who are the members of this Committee and what is the work of the Committee? A. The NATO Science Committee is composed of one representative from each NATO country who is qualified to speak for his or her nation on matters of science and science policy. The Chairman of the Committee is the NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, who reports to the North Atlantic Council on behalf of the Science Committee. The Science Committee is the Council's adviser on scientific issues and is responsible for policy direction and oversight of the NATO Science Programme. Q. What is the NATO Science Programme? A. First we should say what the NATO Science Programme it is not - it is not a military science programme; it is not even a science programme as such, it is more a collaboration on science programme. Of course, good science is the raw material, and scientific progress an outcome, but the Science Programme has become, in recent years particularly, a vehicle for getting scientists from different communities to work together, to get to know their different ways of working, their different backgrounds and organizational structures, their different capacities and potential, the different ways they can contribute to problem-solving. In sum, it is using collaboration which is the common currency of science, to achieve political goals of mutual understanding and tolerance, which in turn contributes to peace and security. Q. How does the Science Programme work? A. The traditional approach used by the Science Programme to promote collaboration in science is a "bottom-up" approach, which gives working scientists in the countries concerned the possibility of putting together their joint collaboration programme and applying to NATO for financial support. There are a number of different 'support mechanisms' - for example Collaborative Linkage Grants which allow the applicants to visit one-another's laboratories to collaborate on a specific research topic, or grants to organize Advanced Study Institutes which are high-level tutorial "summer-schools" to pass on the latest scientific advances. There is also a programme, known as "Science for Peace" which gives support to NATO's Partner countries, for applied Research and Development relating to industrial or environmental problems. The collaboration here involves NATO-country colleagues passing on their know-how in, for example, applying technological research to the development of new SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises). Q. Is there anything new or innovative that we might learn about? A. There are a number of innovations which will come into effect in the Science Programme in the next few months. In line with NATO's new role in combating terrorism, it is anticipated that the Science Programme will in future mainly support collaboration on priority research topics dealing with defence against terrorism and ways of countering other threats to security. Applications on 'Research Topics of Special Interest' are already requested from the scientific community, and, for example, workshops have been supported on such topics as: Security of Natural Gas Supply through Transit Countries (Tbilisi, Georgia, March 2003) or Detection of Bulk Explosives : Advanced Techniques against Terrorism (St. Petersburg, Russia, June 2003); or Defence against Bioterror: Detection Technologies, Implementation, Strategies and Commercial Opportunities (Moscow, September 2003). A further possible innovation will be support for topics which have been identified by Partner countries as their own priority areas, to provide a technology transfer initiative. Other possible innovations are: support for topics in social sciences, and support for reintegration grants, to give young scientists the opportunity to return to their home countries after a period working abroad, and return grants a combined mechanism to provide funding of research for one year abroad and up to two further years in their home countries. Q. Can you give examples of projects with Ukrainian scientists? Over €2 million is projected for Ukraine in support of the 16 Science for Peace projects currently ongoing. Two of these projects are underway at the Ukraine Academy of Sciences Institute for Problems in Materials Sciences, which the Science Committee will visit while in Kyiv, and deal with New Ceramic Materials, and New Aluminium Alloys. Prof. V. Skorokhod is the Co-Director of the Ceramic Materials project, which aims to develop new technology to create advanced ceramic materials used in the cutting tools industry. Dr. A. Krajnikov is the co-director of the second project which aims to obviate Ukraine's current need to import aluminium powders and alloys, by overcoming obstacles such as high risk of explosion, in developing new water atomisation rapid solidification technology to produce new high-performance aluminium-based alloys. Q. Where can I learn more about NATO and Ukraine A. A NATO Information and Documentation Centre was set up in Kyiv in 1997 to improve knowledge and understanding between NATO and Ukraine. The Centre provides information, research assistance and project support to Ukrainian citizens and organizations on NATO-related topics, as well as access to NATO documents and publications. The address of the NATO Information and Documentation Centre in Kyiv is: |
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