Ukraine Reform Working Group

This coalition of leading experts on Ukrainian reform has built a reputation as a trusted partner and a go-to resource for key Ukrainian, European, and US stakeholders based in government,

civil society, and the media. URWG’s trilateral transatlantic footprint—with staff located in Kyiv, Brussels, and Washington—unites officials and experts from across the globe through five lines of programming:

• Virtual biweekly coalition convenings: URWG’s flagship biweekly meetings convene an exclusive network of 300 leading experts, government officials, Ukrainian reformers, and international partners to privately discuss the most important and timely matters on Ukraine’s governance agenda. Each meeting features four guest speakers who are top experts or officials dedicated to the topic under discussion. Biweekly meetings through the first year of URWG, starting in June 2024, covered the following topics:
  • Priorities for URWG’s first year, plans for the Berlin URC, and ESBU reform
  • Reform priorities as seen by top officials in Kyiv, Brussels, and Washington
  • Expectations and advocacy goals at the Washington NATO summit
  • Ukrainian defense procurement reform and related governance issues
  • Developing international donor support for defense and security reform
  • The process of enacting a reboot to reform the State Customs Service
  • The challenges of preparing Ukrainian state assets for privatization
  • Governance implications of the Ukrainian government reshuffle
  • The pace and conditionality needs of Ukrainian judicial reforms
  • Policy challenges in the governance of recovery and reconstruction
  • Advocacy campaigns on US and international support for Ukraine
  • Implications of the US election outcome on support for Ukraine
  • Impact of the US election on European wartime support for Ukraine
  • Ukrainian perspectives on implications of the US election outcome
  • Ukrainian reform milestones in 2024 and priorities for 2025
  • Challenges to the independence of the Defense Procurement Agency
  • Reforms needed to advance Ukrainian defense governance
  • EU-Ukraine defense-sector cooperation and EU integration
  • Ukraine Facility and challenges to Ukraine’s reconstruction strategy
  • International support for Ukraine amid geopolitical volatility
  • Momentum toward EU defense unity and implications for Ukraine
  • Wartime challenges to decentralization and local self-government
  • Ukraine’s EU accession at a stalemate and the way forward

• In-person roundtable convenings for Ukrainian delegations visiting Washington and Brussels: Whenever notable Ukrainian lawmakers, officials, or civil society leaders travel to Washington or Brussels, they reach out to URWG to connect with local experts, officials, and journalists. URWG uses GMF’s platform of offices and networks to organize expert roundtables, media briefings, lawmaker luncheons, and a slate of bilateral meetings with key executive and legislative offices.
• Side events at international conferences: URWG regularly organizes major side events at conferences focused on support for Ukraine. This includes the annual Ukraine Recovery Conference, GMF’s flagship Brussels Forum, NATO summits, the Munich Security Conference, the International Anti-Corruption Conference, and other high-level convenings.
• International media engagements: URWG works with media professionals and major international outlets to share expert analysis on timely Ukraine issues to shape and inform public discourse around Ukraine’s reform process and security.
• Publications: URWG’s in-house experts regularly publish leading research and analysis on all Ukraine security and reform matters, including the recovery and reconstruction process; the EU accession process; transparency, accountability, and integrity reform matters; security and defense; and international assistance and support for Ukraine.

Officials and civic actors dedicated to Ukrainian reforms and international support need platforms like URWG for regular collaboration across borders, not just silos within the respective bubbles of Kyiv, Brussels, and Washington. Particularly in today’s noisy, crowded, and contested information environment, this requires constant sharing of information in both directions: from Ukrainian reform leaders to international friends and partners, and vice versa.