On 12 November 2013, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) meeting at ambassadorial level was held at NATO Headquarters in Brussels.

The discussion on, inter alia, the preliminary results of the Ukrainian Chairmanship of the OSCE was chaired by the Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Alexander Vershbow.

Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Organisations, Ambassador Ihor Prokopchuk addressed the participants of the meeting, focusing in his speech on the preparation for the OSCE Ministerial Council to be held in Kyiv in December.

The Ambassador informed EAPC members of the efforts exerted by Ukraine during its chairmanship of the OSCE in 2013 in order to achieve practical and tangible results in all three OSCE dimensions. As a result of this activity, draft decisions to be adopted by the Ministers to determine the Organisation’s priorities for the future have been elaborated. In this connection, particular importance is attached to the continuation of the “Helsinki+40” process.

The Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council praised Ukraine's efforts to implement the priorities of its OSCE Chairmanship. Participants in the discussion emphasized, in particular, an active role of the Chairmanship in supporting the efforts to resolve protracted conflicts. They also noted the importance of continuing the dialogue initiated by Ukraine on conventional arms control as well as of the decision on the OSCE’s support for the elections in Afghanistan next year.

The participants took a positive note on the Ukrainian Chairmanship’s balanced approach to the activities of the Organisation during the current year, as well as the importance of the topics that had been advanced within the humanitarian dimension of the Organization, including media freedom, freedom of movement, fight against trafficking in human beings, election observation.

It was also noted that the North Atlantic Alliance and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe share common values and have common interests in security area and in countering emerging challenges and threats.

EAPC members stressed the importance and usefulness of the dialogue that took place in the framework of this meeting in the context of preparation for the OSCE Ministerial Council.