EVENT

In Kharkiv the new trolleybuses for the Euro-2012 will be equipped with video surveillance. The first cameras have already been installed for testing in several LAZ euro-trolleybuses in Kharkiv. After testing, all trolleybuses will be equipped with video surveillance for the Euro-2012. This move is not the result of the contract on public transportation provision for the championship, but is the fruit of a mutual initiative of the Kharkiv government and the Lviv Bus Plant. It will facilitate the monitoring of the transportation of people and calculating passengers, notably in regards to passenger flow and payment control. Installing video cameras will also facilitate the work of drivers, promote the observance of order and increase safety, reported the LAZ press center. Thus, Kharkiv will become one of the first cities to introduce video surveillance systems in public transport in Ukraine. 

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has awarded a European Flag of Honor to Lutsk for achievements in European integration, UNIAN reports, citing the information department of the Lutsk city council. They state that the PACE reviewed the city’s application at its April meeting, which was a kind of annual report on Lutsk’s “European” activities in 2010. According to the rules of the awards subcommittee of the PACE, the European Flag of Honor is presented to the recipient by a member of the assembly at a ceremony which should be organized by the municipality and open to the public. So the European Flag of Honor presentation ceremony is tentatively scheduled to be held during the celebrations of the City Day in Lutsk this August. The European Flag of Honor indicates that the CoE recognizes the achievements of Lutsk in maintaining a vivid identity, spreading the European idea, establishing international contacts, and strengthening fraternal ties with foreign cities. This award was introduced by the Committee of Ministers of the CoE in 1955, as one of the grades of the Europe Prize award system. The flag of Europe is embroidered and decorated with gold. Each year 20 to 25 prizes are handed out, and over 950 have been awarded since 1961. Generally, there are four grades in the award system: European Diploma, Flag of Honor, Shield of Honor and the Prize of Europe. In Ukraine, only two cities, Ivano-Frankivsk and Odesa, have been awarded two grades in this system, and only Kharkiv has received all four grades. Last year, Lutsk received a European Diploma.