Policy Makers Forum

Conclusions

The policy maker forum within the SCOPE-EAST launched a discussion on crucial policy issues regarding EU-Russia and EU-Ukraine S/T cooperation involving stakeholders from EU Member States and Associated Countries, Russia, Ukraine and the EU-Commission.
The conclusions of the policy maker forum address in particular the following areas.

• Joint Policy Objectives
• Necessary constituents of a joint framework for S&T cooperation
• Opportunities of EU-Community instruments and linkage to Russian and Ukrainian instruments

The policy maker forum of the SCOPE-EAST conference represented the kick-off and first milestone of a policy dialogue which will be continued and perpetuated in the remaining project duration of SCOPE -EAST, the policy dialogue platforms of the INCO-NET EECA and other coordination activities to come (BILAT-RUS; BILAT-UKR)

Within the framework of SCOPE-EAST

• conclusions and results of the policy maker forum as well as the thematic workshops will be published on the SCOPE-EAST website
• a forum for an open consultation process will be established

Based on the conclusions and results of the SCOPE-EAST conference and the open consultation process,

• a strategic working paper on key issues to enhance the S&T cooperation between Russia, Ukraine and EU-Member States/Associated Countries will be drafted.

This draft strategic working paper will be discussed in a workshop of policy makers to be held within the SCOPE-EAST project in April 2008.
Based on the outcomes of this workshop as final project deliverable

• a strategy paper on "Scenarios for a coordinated approach to sustainable S/T cooperation with the Eastern neighbours of the EU" will be prepared

The recommendations developed within the framework of the SCOPE-EAST project will be actively and continuously fed into the consultations between MS/AC and Russia/Ukraine as well as between the European Commission and Russia/Ukraine. Of particular importance are the consultations of EU-Russia and EU-Ukraine working groups.

International Bureau (IB) of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF); project co-ordinator, Germany	Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France	National Information Center for Ukraine-EC S&&T co-operation (NIP-UKR), Ukraine	State University — Higher School of Economics (HSE), Russia