As of today, Estonia is on the first position in transformation rating among the post-Soviet countries. For the nation, European integration means prosperity and development in conditions of freedom and security, said Tiit Matsulevich, former Ambassador of the Republic of Estonia to Ukraine, current Communications Advisor at EU Advisory Mission to Ukraine, at a discussion at Ukraine Crisis Media Center. He reminded that when Estonia held a referendum on EU-membership, 66 per cent of its citizens said “yes” to the EU. “According to a social survey conducted in March, now 66 per cent of Ukrainians would like their country to become EU member”, he noted.
Estonia’s experience has shown that local media have a crucial role in raising awareness of ordinary people about the aim and the main idea of any changes in the country, said Tiina Ilsen, Deputy Director of the Estonian Center of Eastern Partnership. According to her, Ukrainian local journalists now have the same important role in communication of topics related to Ukrainian European integration and EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.
When writing about European integration, it is very important to give easy and clear explanation what changes will take place in the life of every Ukrainian as a result of implementation of EU Directives, and what opportunities they will get. “People want to know how a Directive will influence their everyday life, not it’s number or the number of a particular provision. It is important to inform about opportunities,” emphasized Lidiya Yershykhina, communication expert at “Association4U”.
“When writing about European integration, we must be very careful, competent and objective. We must understand our responsibility for the information we provide to people,” added Petro Zhyzhyjian, communication expert at “Association4U”.