Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany — The George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies and the NATO Liaison Office will host two seminars in Kiev, Ukraine as the nation begins a comprehensive reform of its security sector. Democratic Oversight of Intelligence Activities will be held on Jan. 24 and Social Consequences of Defense Reform will be held on Jan. 26–27.

More than 30 government officials, decision makers and intelligence experts will participate in the Democratic Oversight of Intelligence Activities seminar. They will examine the roles of the executive and legislative branches in providing democratic oversight of intelligence activities, as well as the responsibilities of the intelligence community in the oversight process. They will also consider lessons learned by NATO accession countries, which will be presented by representatives involved in the process. At the end of the seminar, participants will provide recommendations for the way ahead.

Participants will include staff officers from the Ministry of Interior, the Office of the President, the Office of the Prime Minister, and the Council on National Security and Defense, members of the intelligence community and parliamentary staffers involved in oversight of intelligence activities. The seminar will consist of morning presentations followed by a working lunch. After lunch participants will break into working groups and conclude with a session featuring reports from the working groups.

Approximately 50 senior government officials will participate in the Social Consequences of Defense Reform seminar. Participants will discuss issues associated with housing and military downsizing within a social and economic context, industrial cooperation, emphasizing defense trade and public initiatives, and privatization of state-owned facilities and industries. Participants will reach consensus on how to harness each consequence to the benefit of Ukraine and make recommendations for the way ahead. Participants will include officials from the Ministries of Finance, Defense, Foreign Affairs, Economy, Interior, and Health, General Staff (G4), the Council on National Security and Defense, and the National Institute for Strategic Studies, and members of parliament responsible for developing and supporting aspects of strategic defense planning. The seminar will consist of panel discussions led by experts including visiting faculty from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, followed by working groups in which participants will identify how and where to begin and the best approaches for planning the way ahead.

Both seminars will be conducted in Ukrainian and English. A strict policy of non-attribution will be followed.

Media advisory: The conference will begin at 9 a.m. at the Ministry of Defense Officers Club in Kiev. The opening and closing remarks are open to the media. Media representatives who want to cover the conference or interview speakers or participants must contact Michael Meyer at (country code 49) (0) 8821-7502-795, mobile 00-49-(0)162-296-1756, or meyerm@marshallcenter.org.