On October 14 in Brussels, in the context of the European Week of Regions and Cities (#EURegionsWeek), six Ukrainian regional development agencies (RDAs) — from Volyn, Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi, Vinnytsia, Sumy and Odesa regions — signed memorandums of cooperation with the European Association of Regional Development Agencies (EURADA).

The Ukrainian signatory agencies are pilot partners of the Swiss-Ukrainian project “Ukraine’s Cohesion and Regional Development”, UCORD.

EURADA and the UCORD Project co-organized the round table “Regional Development as the Basis of Ukraine’s Path to EU Integration” as a platform for dialogue on opportunities for Ukrainian RDAs in the context of EU integration and as a basis for signing memorandums of understanding.

In addition, the UCORD project supported the participation of the Ukrainian delegation and continues to cover #EURegionsWeek2025 — a large-scale event that brought together representatives of regions and communities from across the EU.

The memorandums between the Ukrainian RDA and EURADA have consolidated a common desire to deepen partnership, exchange knowledge and develop joint initiatives in the field of regional policy and innovative development. The signing of the memorandums opens up new opportunities for systemic dialogue, implementation of joint projects and involvement of Ukrainian agencies in the European cohesion policy network.

The memorandum is not only a fixation of cooperation plans, but will also be supplemented by a specific action plan for its implementation.

In this context, the Director of the Regional Development Agency of Sumy Region Vitaliy Rastorguev added:

“Sumy Region is an extreme border region, and the signing of the memorandum today declares our intentions in cooperation with European partners, gives us the opportunity to reach the European level, and creates a basis for starting practical activities for the development of Sumy Region”.

Yelyzaveta Savchuk, Director of the Regional Development Agency of Vinnytsia Region, added that Ukrainian agencies “are now given the opportunity to unite with those European agencies whose experience we can borrow, but more importantly, whose support we can enlist.”

Francesco Molika, Director of EURADA, stressed the importance of mutual learning between Ukrainian and European partners and confirms the EU’s continued support for Ukraine – in particular, through the exchange of experience and best practices in governance in the field of regional development.

Thus, this event is an important step towards creating a sustainable platform for multi-level partnership between Ukraine and the EU. As Maryna Bryl, UCORD project leader, noted, direct cooperation of Ukrainian RDAs with EURADA contributes to strengthening the institutional potential of Ukrainian agencies, their integration into the European professional environment and increasing their role in the processes of post-war reconstruction and preparation for membership in the European Union.