Opening the round table discussion, People´s Deputy Petro Hasiuk stated,
"Life sets new internal and external challenges to the Ukrainian society, which leads to a sharp differentiation in the level of
development between the Ukrainian border regions." "This differentiation results in
social tension and alienation between the communities and regions, which poses
a threat to the national security," declared the speaker. He stressed that potential
of trans-frontier cooperation should be used as an innovative tool of state
regional policy to change this situation.
He informed that the EU had developed several important legal tools to support trans-frontier cooperation, including the European Outline Convention on Transfrontier Co-operation between Territorial Communities or Authorities, and additional protocols to it.
The People´s Deputy focused on the Additional Protocol No. 3 to the Madrid Convention that had been developed in line with the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council № 1082/2006 of 5 July 2006 on a European grouping of territorial cooperation (EGTC).
The participants of the discussion stressed that the Protocol defined the concept of "euroregional co-operation groupings" which can be established by the territorial communities or authorities, and regulated the purposes of their activity, membership, procedure of foundation, etc.
The primary aim of the round table discussion was to facilitate ratification of the said document by Ukraine.