Marija Pejčinović Burić, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, attended the second Donor Conference for the Reconstruction of Ukraine, held in London on Wednesday 21 June, and highlighted the “Register of Damage” agreed at the Reykjavik Summit in May.
She specified that it would be based in The Hague, with a presence in Kyiv, and stressed that this structure for collecting evidence of losses or damage caused by Russian aggression represented “a necessary first step towards any future compensation mechanism that will determine what is owed and should be paid for rebuilding the country”.
The Secretary General also spoke of the “Council of Europe Action Plan for the Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction of Ukraine” adopted in December 2022.
With an estimated budget of €50 million, it aims to support Ukraine’s reforms in areas where the Council of Europe has expertise, namely democracy, human rights and the rule of law, as part of the reform programme undertaken by Ukraine with a view to its accession to the EU.
These reforms, emphasised Marija Pejčinović Burić, will improve the business climate and create the conditions for sustained economic growth. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)