European integration and reconstruction of Ukraine are two key priorities for the cooperation of Ukrainian and foreign municipalities in the short-term.

This was stated by Viacheslav Nehoda, Deputy Minister for Communities and Territorial Development, at the Forum “Building Bridges of Trust between Ukrainian and EU Municipalities for the Reconstruction and Restoration of Ukraine”, which took place on 28 October 2022.

The event was attended by representatives of “Bridges of Trust” partner cities, municipalities of Ukraine and the EU interested in international municipal cooperation, associations of local self-government bodies in Ukraine and EU member states, the U-LEAD with Europe Programme, CEMRPLATFORMA, the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine, the EU Delegation to Ukraine and representatives of the European Commission.

“Ukraine’s status as a candidate country for joining the EU opens up great opportunities for the country. And on the way to European integration, it is necessary to do a lot of work at the national and local levels. Ukraine has a unique path in the process of European integration ahead of it since it will simultaneously have to face the challenges of reconstruction after the victory,” said Viacheslav Nehoda.

According to him, in the process of preparing for joining the EU, municipalities will have to be capable and skilled in preparing projects that, on the one hand, will meet the strategic goals of municipal development and, on the other hand, the requirements and standards of EU programmes and foundations, as well as be able to effectively manage funds that will flow to the local level.

The Deputy Minister emphasised that the establishment of inter-municipal relations between municipalities in Ukraine and in the EU, as well as in other candidate countries, is one of the key prerequisites for attracting additional resources and expertise and increasing readiness to deal with European foundations when such opportunities open up.

He pointed out the particular importance of the initiative of the U-LEAD Program with Europe “Bridges of Trust: Empowering Municipalities in Ukraine and in the European Union”, which, according to him, undoubtedly contributes to the activation of existing partnerships and helps to establish new ones.

“However, I would like to stress that establishing partnerships with municipalities from other countries should not be an end in itself. A large number of such partnerships is not always an indicator of efficiency. Cooperation with partner municipalities should ultimately serve the goals of municipal development and improving the quality of life of the local population. Therefore, when identifying potential partners, it is necessary to start from the problems and challenges faced by the municipality and figure out how cooperation with a certain partner can help in overcoming them,” said Viacheslav Nehoda.

He added that the Ministry of Regions is interested in increasing the capacity of local self-government bodies to understand the effective use of partnership mechanisms and will comprehensively support work in this direction.

The Bridges of Trust initiative is implemented by the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) and PLATFORMA with the support of U-LEAD with Europe, sharing best practices of successful cooperation and engaging new municipalities in Ukraine and the EU in further activities within CEMRPLATFORMA.