EU PROJECT FOR CIVIL SOCIETY DEVELOPMENT IN UKRAINE
STATE AND CIVIL SOCIETY AFTER THE 2019 ELECTIONS
Orysia Lutsevych, Consultant
Context:
This analysis aims to contribute ideas to the improvement of state and civil society cooperation in Ukraine after the electoral cycle of 2019. Two watershed elections – the presidential elections in April 2019 and the parliamentary elections in July 2019 – led to a complete overhaul of the political system in Ukraine.
There are some important new factors that will determine the new leadership’s interaction with civil society:
President Zelenskyy has the first ever single-party control across the legislative and executive branches in the history of independent Ukraine. He has an opportunity to demonstrate political leadership and ownership of reforms. With 254 MPs out of 450, Zelenskyy has formed a majority government without a coalition partner. At this stage, the parliament is not a strong player: as most laws are drafted and proposed by the office of the president. For the first time, the institution of the president has a much higher level of public trust than civil society organisations (CSOs). This creates a new dynamic in the relationship. After 100 days in office Zelenskyy was fully or mostly trusted by almost 70 per cent of Ukrainians, and the majority trusted that the president would deliver1. Meanwhile, trust in CSOs for driving reforms dropped from 24 per cent in 2018 to 9 per cent in 20192. This is the first time in the history of independent Ukraine that a president has enjoyed such a high level of trust in his ability to deliver change. There is now a new generation in parliament. Thanks to two new political parties – the president’s party Sluga Narodu and Voice, the party of rock star Slava Vakarchuk – 80 per cent of MPs are newcomers. The average age of parliamentarians is now 41, seven years younger than that of the previous parliament. The intake is 20 per cent female, almost twice that of 2014. Holos has the largest number of MPs from civil society. The current government of Oleksiy Honcharuk is aiming to pursue a market-oriented reform agenda. The cabinet is preparing for a large-scale privatization of state-owned enterprises and an easing of access to extractive industries for foreign investors; it has already lifted the moratorium on the sale of agricultural land to Ukrainian citizens. Many CSOs support a similar agenda. A number of people who have a good understanding of civil society have now joined the new executive team (Taras Kachka, Svitlana Zalishchuk, Pavlo Kukhta, Oksana Nechyporenko). The aim is to make the state smaller and more efficient. The number of ministers has been cut and there are now only 15 ministries. There is a plan to digitalize more services for citizens and create a so-called ‘state in a smartphone’.
1 https://www.unian.ua/politics/10664874-pidtrimuyut-70-ukrajinciv-sociologi-rozpovili-pro-rekordno-visoku-doviru-do-zelenskogo-pislya- 100-dniv-prezidentstva.html 2 https://dif.org.ua/article/100-dniv-pislya-prezidentskikh-viboriv-otsinki-ta-ochikuvannya- gromadyan?fbclid=IwAR06Rx3isvimzSqSdnpC2SyFyEUbh0GBRyjXJfl_KKHg3bwDGDClJprdTxQ
The Project is funded by the European Union and implemented by a consortium led by FCG
Many CSOs, especially those based in Kyiv, are viewed by President Zelenskyy as having supported his opponent during the presidential race. This complicates relations; it impedes openness and gets in the way of outreach by the office of the president towards more established groups and some think tanks. The perception of CSOs as having political preferences antagonised many actors. This has resulted in conflict among groups who share a similar reform agenda. The key demand from the office of the president is that the changes happen quickly. Speed of change is prioritised over the quality of the decision-making process. The current leadership openly acknowledges its capacity to tolerate mistakes and ‘learn by doing’. Zelenskyy has confirmed that he is ready to listen to the people, learn from his mistakes and change for better.3 But, this time pressure means that many things are decided in the narrow circle of the office of the president. Almost all new laws submitted to the parliament are developed and submitted by the office of the president.
Evolution of the cooperation
In the period immediately after Euromaidan, during which active citizens and organized civil society played an important role in ousting the corrupt regime of Victor Yanukovych, there was relatively active cooperation between civil society and the new leadership of Poroshenko to drive the reform agenda. CSOs participated in the National Reform Council and were active at Reform Offices at attached to sectoral ministries. Overall, the importance of civil society for the previous administration lay in its capacity to endorse reforms in the eyes of the western donors. In what was known as a ‘reform sandwich’, the Reanimation Package for Reforms Coalition (RPR) delivered vocal pressure from below, while donors put pressure on the former administration from the top.
Since 2017 and parliament’s introduction of e-declarations for anti-corruption NGOs, the rift between civil society and President’s office especially has deepened. In spite of strong criticism from the G7 ambassadors, the EU Commission and the Venice Commission, this regulation remains in place. To date there have been no reports on the authorities’ exerting of pressure on CSOs by means of this regulation.
As things stand, there has been no new systemic interface of cooperation between civil society and the new leadership. The sporadic exchange and engagement that exists is based on personal contacts with people in the office of the president or the Cabinet of Ministers. At the level of the Cabinet, they are interested in sectoral cooperation to make reforms happen and aid delivery of the Government Programme. In particular, the focus is on justice, land reform, privatization and energy efficiency. The office of the president is looking more for support from CSOs in promoting reforms internationally.
From the start of Zelenskyy’s presidency many well-established groups have been sending a strong message to president-elect about their commitment to hold power to account and ensure civic oversight on key policy areas. In May 2019, around 100 CSOs signed a declaration setting out red lines for the president4. Among them were many leading think tanks, human rights and media CSOs.
3 https://ua.interfax.com.ua/news/political/613014.html 4 http://uacrisis.org/ua/71966-joint-appeal-of-civil-society-representatives
The Project is funded by the European Union and implemented by a consortium led by FCG
This established a rather confrontational atmosphere for the relationship with the sector among key figures in the office of the president.
Overall, the operating environment in Ukraine continues to be complex and turbulent. The military conflict in the east has spill-over effects throughout Ukraine, with millions of internally displaced people (IDPs), veterans of war, a difficult economic situation and increasing political tensions among groups with regard to how the conflict in Donbas should be resolved. The recent ‘No Capitulation’ movement is gathering around the political opposition and patriotic forces to prevent ‘peace at any price’. Social cohesion index as measured by the SCORE Index shows quite low average intergroup harmony in Ukraine (2.9 as compared to max 9-10), with the lowest numbers being in Western Ukraine and Zakarpattia.5 Civic fatigue due to conflict is equally high across Ukraine.6
Key facts about the quality of civil society in Ukraine7:
44% ready to donate to charitable causes, including supporting CSOs
25% regularly or sometimes attend community meetings.
7.5% declare active civic engagement8.
12.6% responded correctly about their rights and the type of government system.
Civil society is an important expression of citizens’ voices in any democratic society. It is by its nature diverse, and it is precisely this diversity that contributes to its strength. By channelling the views of various societal groups, by vocalising those views and by acting collectively to protect and serve citizens’ interests, civil society contributes to making public policy inclusive, effective and, in some cases, efficient.
Ukrainian civil society broadly serves five key functions in its relations to the government:
Ensure checks and balances – provide civic oversight, especially in the case of anti-corruption organizations. They rarely ‘cooperate’ with the authorities, but their presence and their role are indispensable. Serve as a ‘public square’ by providing a platform and support for public consultations with varied stakeholders, and by aiding consensus-building on sometimes complex and divisive policies. Maintaining a non-partisan outlook is key to ensuring the credibility of such initiatives. Provide capacity-building and propose solutions by supplying expertise and training for the new cadre of government officials and members of parliament. In light of what the current leadership views as the partisan leaning of some think tanks and advocacy groups during the 2019 elections, it would be expedient for CSOs to engage western experts in capacity-building activities with new MPs.
5 https://www.scoreforpeace.org/en/ukraine/2018-General%20population%20Government%20Controlled%20Areas-0 6 https://www.scoreforpeace.org/en/ukraine/2018-General%20population%20Government%20Controlled%20Areas-118 7 https://dif.org.ua/article/gromadskiy-aktivizm-ta-stavlennya-do-reform-suspilna-dumka-v-ukraini_5 8 https://dif.org.ua/article/gromadyanske-suspilstvo-v-ukraini-poglyad-gromadyan
The Project is funded by the European Union and implemented by a consortium led by FCG
Act as a partner in service delivery both at the national and regional level. This is especially relevant for social services (assistance to vulnerable groups), veterans and youth. Build public awareness around pressing issues affecting society at large, such as inequality, discrimination, the environment, the quality of the information space, demographics and social protection. Similarly, with the increased digitalisation of state services, the key issues of data protection and privacy will require more attention. These tend to be overlooked by authorities and require the strong voice of civil society to provoke debate and search for policy-solutions. This is more effective when CSOs have a strong constituency.
Table 1: Which tools do CSOs in Ukraine use to influence policy both in Kyiv and at the regional level?9
In view of the president’s policy priorities, civil society could substantially contribute to the delivery of effective outcomes and the strengthening of ownership by the wider society with regard to:
Conflict resolution and ways of reintegration of Donbas and Crimea. CSOs could assist with both developing policy ideas in relation to the new law on special status, and initiating public debates and consultation, as well as promoting the idea of the safe re-integration of Donbas for wider society, especially in the west of Ukraine. Once re-integration has become possible, CSOs could be partners in its implementation. Developing effective modalities of direct democracy, especially prospective changes to the constitution, according to which the ‘people of Ukraine’ will acquire legislative powers to propose laws for adoption in parliament. Referenda are suggested as one of the ways of shaping public policy, and technology is viewed as a tool that could power this process. This critical change to the constitution has not been widely discussed with civil society. If it is poorly implemented, it could have negative consequences for the rule of law in Ukraine. There is also an unresolved question about the modalities of local referenda – their jurisdiction and scope. CSOs could bring to the table viable tools of participatory democracy that could be scaled up nationwide.
9 https://reader.chathamhouse.org/struggle-for-ukraine#civil-society
The Project is funded by the European Union and implemented by a consortium led by FCG
Framework documents:
The Government Programme identifies goals that open up space for state-civil society cooperation10:
Develop viable communities and increase participatory budgeting (Ministry of Regional Development). Increase the number of active citizens (12 per cent of adults and 25 per cent of youth), especially in the realm of development volunteering and engagement with CSOs. Student exchanges in 2020 to reach 250,000 and in 2021 no less than 500,000 (Ministry of Youth, Sport, Culture and Information). Develop the network of social services for vulnerable groups, especially the elderly (Ministry of Social Policy). Development of veteran hubs and e-services (Ministry of Veteran and Occupied Territories). 100 per cent of state services to be accessible online and the development of digital hubs to increase digital literacy and promote services (Ministry of Digital Transformation). The National Strategy for the Promotion of the Development of Civil Society for 2016–2020 was approved by the president of Ukraine on 26 February 2016. It was prepared with the substantial contribution of CSOs based in Kyiv. The strategy focuses on:
The creation of an enabling environment (legislative and regulatory framework); The engagement of civil society in policy development and implementation at the national and regional levels; Increasing engagement of civil society in social and economic development, enabling the provision of social services, social enterprise and economic activity by CSOs; Enabling better cross-sectoral cooperation: transparency of CSOs that are funded by the state, and the development of volunteering, educational programmes in non-profit management and civic education. Ukraine-EU Country Roadmap for Engagement with Civil Society 2018-2020
The Country Roadmap stipulates (priority sector B) the need to promote the meaningful and structured participation of CSOs in the domestic policy arena of partner countries, in the EU programming cycle and in international processes. In particular, it ensures the existence and quality of government initiatives to strengthen both public consultation and the dialogue capacities of public authorities (at local/national/sectoral levels).
The Ukrainian state provides some direct funding to CSOs either via specialised institutions, such as the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation or the Ukrainian Institute, or via the sectoral ministries. So far, there have been no changes in the leadership of key cultural foundations, and they continue to function in the same way as they did in the preceding year.
Table 2: Project state funding available to CSOs (based on the first reading of the state budget)11
10 https://program.kmu.gov.ua/ 11 http://w1.c1.rada.gov.ua/pls/zweb2/webproc4_1?pf3511=66853
The Project is funded by the European Union and implemented by a consortium led by FCG
Category UAH
Ukrainian Cultural Foundation 64,438,000
Ukrainian Institute 78,000,000
Disabilities and vulnerable groups CSOs 89,362,400
Sport CSOs 58,956,000
CSOs working with veterans 17,680,500
Youth CSOs 13,000,000
National-patriotic education CSOs 8,000,000
There has been a slight increase in state funding for CSOs as compared to 2019, but it is insignificant. What is more important is that regional CSOs are now eligible to apply for funding from the national budget to work with vulnerable groups and people with disabilities. This will diversify access for CSOs and enable the supply of more high-quality projects.
The new Ukrainian leadership and civil society are at the stage of getting to know each other and are ‘testing the waters’ of what is possible. Immediately after the parliamentary elections, many laws were submitted for adoption by the president. But over time, after a bulk of legislature that was developed in 2019 is approved, there will be new window of opportunity to for CSOs to engage in shaping public policy.
Preliminary Recommendations: 1. Start by building trust with the new leadership. Demonstrate that the power of civil society comes from the capacity to alter the lives of others for the better. CSOs should better position themselves with regard to demonstrating their added value, and better articulate what they bring to the table. The capacity to be sub-contractors for national and local government should be better promoted. There are now opportunities to work cooperatively towards achieving joint objectives such as increasing cohesion (student exchanges), the development of digital services, digital participatory democracy, the assistance and integration of veterans and educational projects (especially providing critical thinking and resilience skills to youth). 2. Use key framework documents to deepen cooperation and consultations. These documents could serve as a guidance and door-opener for starting discussions about the creation of effective infrastructure for state-civil society cooperation. The National Strategy for the Promotion of Development of Civil Society and the EU Roadmap could create pathways for such conversations either by sector or at the national level at the Cabinet of Ministers. Consider the strategic evolution of the National Coordination Council that oversees the implementation of the Strategy into a national regulator for civil society (along the lines of the Charity Commission in the UK). 3. One of the leading networks for CSO reform advocacy, Reanimation Package of Reforms (RPR), needs to reinvent itself. The old model, according to which it acted as ‘a law preparation kitchen’, is no longer working. Table 1 demonstrates that regional CSOs are less agile in using available tools to influence decision-makers. PRP could potentially focus more on regional
The Project is funded by the European Union and implemented by a consortium led by FCG
outreach and on the contribution to knowledge exchange and capacity-building for regional CSOs. In view of decentralisation, advocacy skills are much needed at the local level. 4. Initiate a national conversation, ‘What is Civil Society for Me?’, about the role of civil society and how it is de facto a driver and partner in social change. With a strong digital component and social media outreach, it should aim to channel the myriad voices of active Ukrainians to raise the profile of civil society, promote its contribution to modernization and encourage more citizen engagement. Powerful stories and testimonies of CSOs’ beneficiaries across Ukraine could highlight what often remains invisible. A campaign such as this has a higher chance of being noticed and taken seriously by the president and new MPs than traditional conferences and conventions. This could be done in a similar way to the process in the UK: https://civilsocietyfutures.org/resources/. 5. A campaign to develop the individual and corporate culture of giving. Promote percentage philanthropy and improve tax incentives for corporate giving (increase tax breaks from 4 per cent to 10 per cent). 6. As part of the national effort to digitalize services, scale and promote the efforts of existing programmes, especially what has been implemented by the e-Democracy in Ukraine network. Promote new tools of digital participatory democracy, such as online elections for the members of the Civil Councils, NCC. Develop standard guidelines for the coordination councils and promote best practices among regions to improve learning. 7. To improve the transparency of state funding, advocate for a nationwide online database of all projects financed at the national/regional levels by theme and disbursement authority, with a short description of each project. This database could be added to either https://www.publicfinance.gov.ua/en/blog or the state web-platform of open data https://data.gov.ua/. 8. Focus on the development of active citizenship. In addition to civic education, build the capacity of CSOs to engage their constituencies in order to strengthen legitimacy. Framing the narrative around the work of civil society by using personal stories can help reach new audiences and better explain the added value of civil society for Ukraine’s prosperity and modernization. Reach out to the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture to help meet targets for civic engagement. Consider the development of a nationwide portal that will make access to civic engagement easier by providing opportunities by locality and sector of engagement. Take Part is an example of how citizens can take action around issues. Another good way of promoting activism is an Annual Campaign Award for the best civic campaign. The Sheila McKechnie Foundation in the UK runs National Campaigner Awards to celebrate success.
The Project is funded by the European Union and implemented by a consortium led by FCG