The „Orange Revolution“of autumn 2004 was in particular a success of the Ukrainian civil society. Thousand of people committed themselves in non-violent protests lasting for weeks, so that their right for free elections was acclaimed. However, the Ukrainian civil society missed the ability to a large extent to take over the function of a lasting control and exercise of influence on the new political power structures and thus help to consolidate the political process of democratisation. The political field was left vastly to the power struggles of the political clans in 2005. The disappointment of the population over the real outcomes of the politics of President Viktor Juschtschenko and the failure of the post-orange coalition afflicted the outcomes of the parliamentary election in March 2006, out of which the main opponent Viktor Janukowitsch came out as the victor. The lasting power struggles from time to time hinder the political process. The acknowledgement of democratic structures and the cooperation with European structures counts as a basic political consensus of the political elites.

There already is an exchange of experience of the committed initiatives: As yet, the Friedrich-Ebert foundation has organized annually conferences. But annual conferences cannot generate systematic approaches. Other than a partnership programme: It could help single projects of the initiatives and moderate the dialogue and exchange of experience. With comparatively smaller funds a partnership programme starts an impulse from below and reaches its actors directly.