International session of the European Youth Parliament for the first time to be held in Ukraine

On October 13-22, 2006 in Kyiv the 53rd international session of the European Youth Parliament (EYP) will be held.

For the first time in 18 years of its history the EYP session will be held in the country, which neither is a member of the European Union nor a candidate for accession to the community. The international executive committee of the EYP took decision to hold the 53rd session in Kyiv due to the high professional level of work of the Ukrainian Committee of the EYP, its significant contribution to the development of the EYP in Eastern Europe as well as for supporting the democratic transformations in Ukraine.

The delegates of the EYP – about 300 young people from 16 to 22 years old from 30 countries of Europe – during 10 days will work in international committees, which structure and general orientation correspond to the similar positions of the European Parliament committees. Participants of the session got over complicated multiple-stage procedure of selection to the delegations of their countries. Potentially these are the peoples who in 10-15 years will take strategic for the European Union decisions. Among former delegates of the international sessions of the EYP – Deputy President of Belgium Freya VAN DEN BOSSCHE, Councilor of the Prime Minister of France  (2002-2005) Christian Gotshalk.

A number of important for Ukraine issues, in particular, the Russian-German project of Baltic gas pipeline, fight against HIV/AIDS, protection of asylum seekers and illegal migrants etc will be discussed in the framework of the session. Furthermore for the first time the session will consider an additional Programme on Human Rights Protection, where Berlin Human Rights Institute and National Fund of Understanding and Reconciliation act as co-partners.