U.S.-EU Partnership Committee for Ukraine

CSIS announced on January 22 the launching of the U.S.-EU Partnership Committee for Ukraine. Co-chaired by Zbigniew Brzezinski, CSIS Counselor and Trustee, and Volker Rühe, former Defense Minister of Germany, the project supports the consolidation of Ukraine’s democracy and market economy and will encourage joint U.S.-EU policies that enhance Ukraine’s integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions.

The Committee is comprised of a select group of senior policymakers from the United States and European countries, including former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier, former Polish Foreign Minister Bronislaw Geremek, former Estonian Prime Minister Mart Laar, current ranking minority member of the U.S. Senate Committee for Foreign Relations Senator Richard G. Lugar, former U.S. Secretary of Defense William Perry, former Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen, former UK Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind, and former National Security Adviser Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft.

The Partnership Committee will offer strategic advice and practical recommendations to the governments of Ukraine, the United States, EU member states, and to EU institutions on the most effective policies for ensuring Ukraine's progress in ensuring political pluralism, the rule of law, market openness, and strong linkages with Euro-Atlantic institutions, while also maintaining a constructive relationship with Russia.

The Partnership Committee is supported by the analysis and policy advice of four CSIS task forces structured around four key challenges facing Ukraine today: political and economic transformation, energy security, Ukrainian-Russian relations, and Euro-Atlantic integration. CSIS task force directors include Steven Pifer, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine and CSIS Senior Adviser; Keith Smith, former U.S. Ambassador to Lithuania and CSIS Senior Associate; Celeste Wallander, Professor at Georgetown University and CSIS Senior Associate; and Janusz Bugajski, Director of the CSIS New European Democracies Project and Senior Fellow in the Europe Program. In addition to working with U.S. scholars, CSIS has reached out to experts in Europe, including the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) in Berlin. CSIS will also collaborate with Chatham House in London under the guidance of its new director, Dr. Robin Niblett, former director of the CSIS Europe Program, to integrate and coordinate European perspectives on Ukraine.