The first meeting of the Joint Consultative Committee between Ukrainian local governments and the European Committee of the Regions is scheduled to be held in November. Minister for Communities, Territories and Internally Displaced Persons Vitalii Bezgin and the President of the European Committee of the Regions Kata Tüttő, discussed preparations for the meeting during European Week of Regions and Cities.

The Minister states that it is important to involve representatives from all levels of local self-government in the work of the Committee. Communities deal with the aftermath of the war on a daily basis and make decisions on which the recovery of territories depends.

‘It is fundamental that all levels of local self-government are represented at the table. Because communities are the ones who face the aftermath of the war and make decisions on recovery every day,’ noted Vitalii Bezgin.

The Minister also reported that the Government plans to draft the necessary regulations in the coming weeks.

A separate topic of the meeting was the preparation of Ukrainian communities for the winter. They need equipment to maintain critical infrastructure, in particular modular boiler rooms and generators. The European Committee of the Regions has already called on EU regions to support Ukraine.

The parties also discussed the future involvement of communities in the EU cohesion policy. As the Minister emphasised, it is necessary to start preparing to work with European funding now, without waiting for Ukraine’s accession to the EU. To this end, strong local teams, well-prepared projects, and a greater role for communities in decision-making are essential.

One of the other topics of discussion was the preparations for the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC-2027), which is due to be held in Tallinn. Ukraine is keen to involve new European partners in the Conference, particularly in order to support frontline communities.

Vitalii Bezgin thanked Kata Tüttő and the team at the European Committee of the Regions for their support of Ukraine.