“Europe without Barriers” pays your attention to the facts in the following open letter of SALTO Resource Centre for Eastern Europe countries and the Caucasus, which may indicate inefficient and non-transparent practices of the Consular Service of Ukraine in the EU countries on the activities of the European Volunteer Service in Ukraine.
Projects undertaken by volunteers of the program in the sphere of education and youth culture of Ukraine and the European Union are now jeopardized because of unfounded refusals of Consulates to grant visa for temporary and long-term volunteers staying from EU countries in Ukraine.
Ukraine is a Neighbouring Partner Country included to the Youth in Action Programme. The Programme provides opportunities for young people from European Union and Ukraine to launch youth international projects. Youth in Action Programme is a programme in field of youth provided by European Union for the period 2007-2013 with the total budget of 885 million euros. European Voluntary Service is a part of Youth in Action Programme of European Community, one of the main tools for cooperation in field of education, youth and culture. The Programme is indicated as one of the key instruments for developing people to people contacts in frame of European Neighbourhood Policy, Eastern Partnership and is included into EU-Ukraine Association Agenda, education training and youth field – enhancing exchanges and cooperation in the field of non-formal education for young people and youth workers as a means to promote intercultural dialogue and support civil society, inter alia through the Youth in Action programme (2007-2013).
European Voluntary Service (EVS) is one of the most popular opportunities for young people to participate in Youth in Action Programme through implementing their long-term voluntary projects abroad. Volunteers are young people in age of 18-30 staying in other country for 2-12 months.
Compared with 2007 the number of projects involving European Union and Eastern Europe and Caucasus countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russian Federation and Ukraine) has been more than doubled from 267 in 2007 to 566 in 2009. This indicates that each year more young people are involved in Europe-wide voluntary activities. According to the statistics the most volunteers are young people 23-25 years old, going abroad for 8-10 month. In 2009 Ukraine gained leadership in Eastern Europe and Caucasus region by number of young Ukrainians sent for voluntary service abroad. At the same time in 2009 Ukraine was the 5th country in region by number of hosted volunteers (the most volunteers have been hosted in Moldova – 70 volunteers, Russia – 61, Georgia – 37, Armenia 33 and Ukraine – 30).
Unfortunately, starting this year, volunteers from EU countries that are implementing their projects in Ukraine are facing difficulties with legalizing their stay in Ukraine. Consulate of Ukraine in the European Union countries began to deny the volunteers visa type "Culture (K)”, as well as any other visa that would have made possible to be registered for of temporary residence in Ukraine (3 to 12 months.). In some cases, visas type Business (B) have been issued, without informing volunteers that prolongation of their stay for more than 90 days during the 180 days is eligible by providing a set of documents on employment in Ukraine. Office of Citizenship and Registration of Persons (UHIRFO) refuses to register the volunteers, if they have a visa type "B", as they are not employed in Ukraine.
EVS projects of Youth in Action are funded from the budget of the Programme, based on agreement between European Commission and governments of the countries of origins of volunteers. Until recently, the volunteers have been registered by UHIRFO under conditions of possessing valid visa type "K" and the project documents provided by Ukrainian nongovernmental organizations – parts of international projects. The latest rejections of Consulate Services of Ukraine in Warsaw, Riga, London and Berlin pose at risk the projects of European volunteer service in Ukraine.
At present there are 15 volunteers in Ukraine, who haven’t managed to receive visa and have no preconditions for being registered for temporary long-term residence in Ukraine. Legally they are permitted to stay in Ukraine 90 days during 180 days. After the 90-day stay they will have to stop work and go home. National Agencies of Youth in Action Programme will be informed about changed situation in Ukraine and impossibility of long-term EVS-projects in the country. Volunteers who are planning to come to Ukraine will be advised to refuse the projects.
Ukraine may be the first country in Eastern Europe and Caucasus region, where the volunteering projects of European Voluntary Service are threatened to be cut because of refusing volunteers’ stay in the country.
Situation of Ukrainian volunteers in European Union is regulated on national level, so young Ukrainians can participate in long-term voluntary projects abroad.
The projects that are at risk and may be the last in Ukraine involve volunteers in activities of European Schools Clubs, supporting social disadvantage youth, language courses, youth clubs, school journalism, European awareness of young people. The projects are implemented in Donetsk, Vinnytsia, Drohobych, Lviv, Rivne, Sumy and Simferopol.
(prepared by SALTO Eastern Europe and Caucasus Resource Centre in co-operation with Network of Multipliers of Youth in Action Programme in Ukraine)
