The annual seminar organised by NIK is - besides joint audits, various trainings and expertise - one of the means by which the Supreme Audit Office of Poland gets involved in positive changes in Ukraine. Perhaps the most important of them. The seminar is intended to be a strong stimulus aimed at improving the functioning of the Ukrainian state. The meeting was attended, among others, by Deputies to the Supreme Council of Ukraine, representatives of the major Ukrainian public institutions and activists from non-governmental organisations. The importance of the meeting was stressed by the presence of the Polish Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Renata Szczęch, Head of the Civil Service, Dobrosław Dowiat-Urbański and Zbigniew Bujak - an opposition legend in times of the Polish People’s Republic.
The form of this seminar was slightly modified. For the first time guests co-organised the meeting. The lecture of Siemion Siemienczenko, the Ukrainian Deputy to the Supreme Council, who presented the major dilemmas resulting from Ukraine’s geopolitical situation, raised an intensive discussion.
This issue was also addressed by President of NIK Krzysztof Kwiatkowski: - The transatlantic partnership, which strengthens both Polish and Ukrainian independence, is a lasting value for the Western world and years of experience related to the European integration show that each crisis strengthens the transatlantic solidarity.
Prof. Zybertowicz emphasised that Ukrainians fight and die defending values that are obvious for the Western Europe. Poles expressed their respect for the Ukrainian people, who risked their lives for freedom and independence of Ukraine, Europe as well as the free world.
Which subjects were included in the programme of the seminar? Zbigniew Bujak described the experience of the Polish Solidarity with regard to counteracting pathologies in the labour market and potential of trade unions as a factor of a positive and peaceful social change. The participants also discussed the Polish experience related to the development of a civil society, the functioning of a public-private partnership systems, the 1% mechanism and the participatory budget. A part of the seminar was dedicated to EU cooperation programmes between Poland, Belarus and Ukraine. The important topic of energy security was also addressed. The main subject of the conference was related to anti-development interest groups - how to recognise them and design adequate prevention strategies. Competent, independent and patriotically motivated state audit bodies are one of the key factors for the elimination of such groups.
- I would like you to share the knowledge gained here. From our perspective you are now ambassadors of the Polish experience in Ukraine - said Krzysztof Kwiatkowski at the closing of the meeting. NIK President concluded: - It does not matter when you are ready for a full integration with the EU and NATO. What is more important, is that each day wasted while strengthening the state, eliminating its pathologies and building a civil society is a day that cannot be recovered.
