Two Danish TV broadcasters, DR and TV2, will provide a program package consisting of more than 100 hours of quality Danish TV to a new Ukrainian public service broadcaster.

The recently-established National Public Broadcaster of Ukraine (NPBU) does not have the funds to buy TV programs on international markets, so the Foreign Ministry has decided to support it with funds from ‘The media and democratisation in Eastern partnership countries and Turkey’ program.

Need for independent news
“As a young democracy under tremendous external pressure to deliver fundamental and comprehensive reforms, Ukraine needs a functioning national public service broadcaster that can provide independent, critical news to the people on all platforms, including radio, TV and social media,” explained the ministry.

Being financially dependent on advertisers, NPBU has to prove it is an important player that can offer its listeners and viewers quality TV, and the broadcaster believes popular Danish TV shows can help.

Supporting Ukrainian legal sector
Meanwhile, the foreign minister, Kristian Jensen, is visiting Ukraine today to discuss possible solutions to the conflict Ukraine has with Russia and the country’s new reforms.

With 60 million kroner, Denmark is supporting Ukraine’s reforms in the legal sector, including a new national centre for fighting corruption.

Today, Jensen is meeting the Ukrainian prime minister, Arseniy Petrovych Yatsenyuk, the foreign minister, Pavlo Klimkin, and representatives of Ukrainian civil society.

Tomorrow, Jensen will head to eastern Ukraine to meet local politicians, Danish OSCE observers and humanitarian organisations.