Tallinn authorities have criticized the preparations for a conference on Ukraine's recovery
Tallinn city officials have criticized the organization of the sixth International Conference on the Reconstruction of Ukraine (URC), which is scheduled to take place in the Estonian capital on January 27–29 of next year. Tallinn Deputy Mayor Kristjan Järvan stated that an event of this scale should be postponed by several months, according to ERR News.
Järvan, who is responsible for municipal services and entrepreneurship, cited the chosen dates as the main problem. He noted that previous conferences on Ukraine’s recovery were held in June or July, and he does not understand the rationale for holding the event in late January.
The official also believes there is too little time left for preparations. He noted that the city currently does not know the conference venue or the lineup of speakers. According to Yarvan, the event’s programs still need to be approved by the Ukrainian government, which, he said, is still partly being formed. He expressed concern that organizational issues, particularly the snow on the city’s streets, could damage the reputation of Tallinn and Estonia.
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Mariin Ratnik, Deputy State Secretary at the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who is involved in organizing the URC, responded that the dates were chosen in consultation with the Ukrainian side, taking into account the schedule of other major international events. In particular, the organizers took into account the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Munich Security Conference, and February 24—the anniversary of the start of the war.
Ratnik noted that it is normal for not all locations and participants to be finalized four months before a large-scale event. According to her, the conference will effectively consist of seven smaller thematic conferences, each of which will be roughly comparable in scale to the Lennart-Meri Conference. They are planned to be held at various but interconnected locations in Tallinn.
The Foreign Ministry representative also stated that the city has experience hosting international summits, and that all aspects of the preparations have been discussed with the municipality. Based on the experience of previous conferences, it is estimated that the URC could attract between 5,000 and 7,000 participants in Tallinn. The ERR report also notes that the possible participation of U.S. President Donald Trump was discussed.
