Vitalii Bezhin, the Member of Parliament of Ukraine, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Administrative and Territorial Structure and Local Self-Government, emphasises that: “As a parliamentary committee, we continue to develop the topic of international cooperation of communities as one of the priorities and one that will play a key role in the development of decentralisation over the next five years. The focus of the event in Volyn was on improving and systematising the work between Ukrainian and Lithuanian municipalities. In the near future, at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine, we will be able to bring the format of this interaction to a completely new level and present it to the public.”
Viacheslav Rubliov, the MP, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Regional Policy and Local Budgets, emphasises: “It is very important that we continue to develop international cooperation at the level of communities and regions, as this is the way to Europe, to the European family we are striving for. Despite the military events that are taking place in our country, we must admit that the Parliament of the current convocation has done a lot to bring Ukraine closer to the realisation of its long-standing goal of joining the European Union.”
Oleksandr Aliksiichuk, the MP, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Cooperation of Territorial Communities and Regions, said: “On-site meetings of the Committee members are a way of direct communication with local governments, which, on the one hand, provides an opportunity to receive feedback from them on the initiatives generated by the Committee, and, on the other hand, to encourage them to take more active steps in establishing international inter-municipal associations as a tool for accessing EU programmes and funds.”
Alina Zahoruiko, the MP, Deputy Chairperson of the Committee, Chairperson of the Subcommittee on Elections, Referendums and Other Forms of Direct Democracy, said: “We are once again discussing an important topic of international cooperation, especially important for the border regions. Of course, in the context of the European integration track, this topic has become relevant for the whole of Ukraine. Therefore, I drew the attention of the communities of Volyn and Rivne to the need to strengthen their own capacity in the context of quality training and education, as finding a partner and signing a cooperation agreement does not guarantee the successful implementation of the project. Only a professional approach and knowledge of the algorithm of actions can ensure the result. It is worth noting that the Volyn Regional Development Agency has been actively working in the field of international cooperation for the past year and is one of the leaders in this process.”