The document was signed by the Secretary General Viacheslav Shtuchnyi and the Director of the Institute Sebastian Schäfer.
The Institute and the structural units of the Secretariat, in particular the Research Service of the Verkhovna Rada, will work on the creation of joint research, information, analytical and expert materials, organise training events, and develop educational projects on issues that will be relevant to both sides.
"The Verkhovna Rada Secretariat is actively developing its partnership network: we are establishing contacts with the secretariats of foreign parliaments and starting cooperation with think tanks. IDM is one of the leading think tanks in Europe that actively studies the EU enlargement process and Ukraine's place in it. I am convinced that the Institute's consultations, joint research and events will help the staff of the Verkhovna Rada to perform better the tasks related to the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of our country," said Viacheslav Shtuchnyi.
After the signing ceremony, the Secretary General held a bilateral meeting with the Director of the Institute to discuss the first steps in implementing the Memorandum.
The Institute for Danube Region and Central Europe was founded in 1953. The main activities of the Institute are research, writing, organising events and establishing partnerships between experts and scholars from Central and Eastern Europe on topics relevant to the countries of these regions, in particular: the EU enlargement process, cross-border cooperation, support and development of democratic processes.