Euroregions on the agenda of European meetings in Polissya

On December 1, 2009, a regular meeting of Chernihiv journalists with an expert on European integration was held at the Pure Policy press club. This time, Vadim Pylypenko, the President of the International Association of Regional Development (Mirr), visited Chernihiv.

Maryr is an international organization that includes experts on cross -border cooperation from Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and Ukraine. The headquarters of the organization is located in Uzhgorod, a representative of the Association in the Chernihiv region is the Polissya Fund of International and Regional Research.

Considering the fact that the Chernihiv region is part of the border community “Euroregion” Dnipro “, the experience of Euroregional activity, which has public institutions on the western border of Ukraine, is quite relevant for the region.
Vadim Pylypenko briefly spoke about the activities of the organization, the projects of cross -border cooperation in the Transcarpathian region, financed from structural funds and programs of the European Union.

The expert is convinced that cross-border cooperation is the first step towards more in-depth European integration of Ukraine, since the practical implementation of our country’s accession plans to the EU depends on the competence and desire to resolve issues on the ground, especially in regions bordering the EU and NATO member states.

At the same time, there are some obstacles to the development of cross -border cooperation that do not allow to discover the entire European integration potential of this tool. First of all, it is a lack of experience in establishing cross -border cooperation with representatives of the authorities, business and public sector. Secondly, it is a lack of funds to finance initiatives by international organizations, along with the imperfection of the regulatory framework for the financing of cross-border projects. Third, there is practically no joint planning of projects for the development of border areas. And, fourth, there is a different level of decentralization in Ukraine and EU countries.

At the same time, V. Pylypenko is convinced that European regional development and cross -border cooperation programs will be increasingly spreading to the region of Ukraine that do not have a common border with the countries of the European Union. For this purpose, representatives of the border regions of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia should be ready for new tools and resources that can be opened in the context of cross -border cooperation. For example, the Gomel region of Belarus has already been included in the transboundary cooperation program “Poland-Belarus-Ukraine” of the European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument for 2007-2013, although this area has no direct border with EU countries.

Yuri Vdovenko, Vice President of the Polissya Fund, said that the Dnipro Euro Region, which was created in 2003 by the authorities can obtain a new impetus in development with the study of the experience of successful Euroregions with the participation of Ukrainian regions.

Reference:

The European Meetings on Polissya is implemented by the Polissya Fund of International and Regional Studies with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation.