Ukrainian delegation consulted with Nordic partners on democratic resilience and citizen engagement

The programme focused on practical options for enabling the participation of Ukrainians abroad in future post-war elections and on strengthening institutional preparedness and democratic resilience.

Across the three countries, the delegation gathered practical lessons on inter-agency coordination, cooperation with host-country institutions and municipalities, communication with diaspora organizations, accessibility of venues, staffing and training, and resilience against disinformation and other hybrid threats. These insights will feed into Ukraine’s planning for the first post-war elections and help shape operational options for enabling participation abroad in line with European standards.

Finland

The delegation met the Ministry of Justice (the authority responsible for administering elections in Finland), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Rule of Law Centre, and the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE). Finnish counterparts shared experiences with out-of-country arrangements and postal voting, the respective roles of the Ministry of Justice and diplomatic missions, and cooperation with host-country institutions to ensure transparency and accessibility. 

Discussions at Hybrid CoE addressed crisis preparedness, safeguarding information environments around elections, and emerging risks such as coordinated disinformation. Exchanges with Ukrainian community representatives provided practical perspectives on voter information, access to suitable premises and staffing for polling operations abroad.

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Denmark

Consultations were held with the Ministry of the Interior and Health, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Local Government, and Emergency Management authorities complemented by dialogue with the Ukrainian community in Copenhagen. Danish partners explained how central authorities coordinate with municipalities on election management tasks, logistics and contingency planning. 

A recent amendment to the Parliamentary Election Act, enabling Danish authorities, upon Ukraine’s request, to provide technical assistance for conducting a Ukrainian election for voters in Denmark, was discussed as an enabling legal precedent for cooperation.

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Sweden

In Stockholm, the delegation met the Swedish Election Authority, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Swedish Agency for Psychological Defence, Folke Bernadotte Academy and representatives of the Stockholm and Gothenburg municipalities. Swedish colleagues outlined institutional coordination for elections, cooperation with municipalities, approaches to accessible polling-place setup and materials management, and communication strategies tailored to different voter groups, including citizens abroad. 

The visit built on the Memorandum of Understanding (June 2025) between the CEC of Ukraine and the Swedish Election Authority, which provides a framework for cooperation on electoral administration, including support for out-of-country voting arrangements. Community meetings in Sweden further underscored the importance of providing timely, clear information and transparent procedures to maintain public trust.

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Consultations with Ukrainian communities across the three countries provided further perspectives on the needs and expectations of citizens residing abroad.

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The visits were organized within INSPIRE UA, implemented by International IDEA with financial support from the European Union (August 2025–August 2026). The project aims to strengthen the capacity of Ukraine’s democratic institutions and ensure the transparency, integrity and resilience of democratic processes in the post-war period, in line with the Roadmap on Functioning of Democratic Institutions, in particular the section on “Fair and free elections”, adopted by the Government of Ukraine in May 2025 as part of the EU accession commitments.

The next consultative visit under INSPIRE UA will take place in France and Belgium from 9 to 14 October 2025, continuing exchanges on host-country frameworks, institutional preparedness, and engagement with Ukrainian communities abroad.