EU integration of Ukraine
across borders
with the help of the V4
with the help of the V4
The project is co-financed by the Governments of Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia through Visegrad Grants from International Visegrad Fund. The mission of the fund is to advance ideas for sustainable regional cooperation in Central Europe.
For more information please visit: www.visegradfund.org.
The Association of the European Border Regions (AEBR) is the most prestigious and the oldest advocacy organisation of cross-border cooperation (CBC) in Europe. Before the Ukrainian war, the association had several Ukrainian members, Ukrainian-Russian euroregions included. These cooperation initiatives had a special EUisation mission of the Ukrainian and Russian regions, which was abruptly interrupted by the war. At the same time, the war accelerated the negotiations targeting the EU integration of Ukraine. The Eastern European country signed the association agreement with the EU in 2017 and since then, several steps have been made in order to adapt the common European values, to improve the administrative system, to introduce the European policies, but the integration process was very slow and it seemed to be long-lasting. As a consequence of the war, Ukraine was granted the candidate status in June 2022, half a year after the application. However, even after the war, Ukraine will have to make remarkable efforts until the accession. During this process, the lessons and experiences of the Visegrad Four countries, gained during the EU accession process and beyond, might be beneficial and usable for the Ukrainian partners. Cross-border cooperation can have a key role in this process, as has been the case for the Visegrad countries since the establishment of the first Euroregion in the former communist bloc, namely the Euroregion Neisse-Nisa-Nysa in 1991.
Within the framework of the project funded by the International Visegrad Fund, the partners aim to organise two events during the annual event of the Association of European Border Regions to be held in Košice between 8 and 11 November 2023.
The first day (10 November) is dedicated to an international conference to be held in Košice, on the EU integration of Ukraine and the applicable V4 experiences in the field of cross-border cooperation. Through our conference we would like to contribute to this knowledge sharing exercise and to initiate lasting partnership promoting the transfer of experiences during the EU integration process of Ukraine. First, the nearly 200 participants of the AEBR’s annual event coming from different EU countries, from Spain to Finland, and from Ireland to Romania, will get information on the achievements of Ukraine in the integration process, through the presentations of policy-makers and experts from Ukraine. Besides, a round-table discussion will be held where political and diplomacy experts of the V4 countries will share their experiences related to the EU integration. Furthermore, local and regional actors from the four countries and Ukraine will speak about the role of CBC in the EUisation process: its soft diplomatic, resource generating, trust building and regional development aspects.
Second, on the day after the conference, we will organise a study tour for the participants to Uzhhorod, to the Regional Council of the Transcarpathian Region in order to get first-hand information on the situation in Ukraine, on the results of the administrative reform and the activities of the different regional organisations in developing their ties with the V4 countries.
The event is designed to boost the Košice Platform initiative established in 2019 with the aim of supporting the integration process of the Eastern Partnership countries.
Within the framework of the Association of European Border Regions (AEBR) a one-day V4 conference took place in Košice. The focus of the event was on Ukraine’s EU integration, as well as the experiences of the Visegrad Four countries in the field of cross-border cooperation during the EU accession process and beyond. The event ended with a study trip to Uzhhorod.
Location: Hotel Yasmin (Tyršovo nábrežie 1675/1, 040 01 Košice)
08.00 Registration is open
09.00 Greetings
Moderator: Ms Caitriona Mullan, Associate Expert of AEBR
09.30 Achievements of Ukraine on the field of EU integration
Moderator: Ms Yuliia Fetko, Director of the Research Institute on European Territorial Cooperation of the Uzhhorod National University
10.30 Coffee break
11.00 CBC in the V4 countries – lessons and future perspectives
Moderator: Mr Rudolf Bauer, Director of CESCI Carpathia, Košice
Questions & answers
13.00 Lunch break
14.30 Cross-border cooperation in the V4 countries – the daily practice
Moderator: Ms Kitti Dubniczki, Director of CESCI, Budapest
15.30 Coffee break
16.00 Round-table discussion: What lessons can be learnt from the EU integration of the Visegrad countries?
Moderator: Mr Martín Guillermo-Ramírez, Secretary General of AEBR
17.15 Presentation of AEBR Annual Events 2024
17.30 Closing
9.00 (CET) Departure from Košice in front of Hotel Yasmin by bus
11.30 (EET) Arrival in Uzhhorod (Regional Council of the Transcarpathian Region)
Moderator: Mr Yaroslav Lazur, Dean of the Faculty of Law, Uzhhorod National University, Member of the Scientific Advisory Council under the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (Uzhhorod, Ukraine)
Greetings:
Presentations:
Questions and answers
13.00 Interactive session with the AEBR members (moderated by Martín Guillermo-Ramírez)
14.00 Lunch at Restaurant Grant
16.00 Return to Košice
Project start date: 20/09/2023
Project end date: 30/11/2023
Total V4 contribution: EUR 21,300
Gyula Ocskay
e-mail: gyula.ocskay@cesci-net.eu
phone: +36-20/355-3385
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