Prospects for the Development of Cross-Border Cooperation at the Local Government Level in Ukraine

The irreversible course of Ukraine’s accession to the European Union is vividly demonstrated every day in the media by the unwavering support of our country by international partners and organisations, as well as by the top officials of foreign states. The key task is to adapt the acquis communautaire into the national legislation of Ukraine. All reforms are taking place in parallel with the Ukrainian government’s accession negotiations, starting with the ratification of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement in 2014. An integral attribute of EU accession is the implementation of decentralisation reforms, including the development of cross-border cooperation of territorial communities. This is an important tool for the development of regions, cities and territorial communities, especially those bordering on neighbouring countries or having partnerships with territorial partners in other countries.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the EU countries have virtually unanimously expressed political support for our country. The EU candidate status granted to Ukraine allows us to create the best conditions for the development of cross-border cooperation. Regardless of the duration of Ukraine’s accession process, the prospect of Ukraine’s membership in the EU has become a political reality and will sooner or later mean its integration into the EU single market and the Schengen area. Cross-border cooperation of subnational actors should be seen as a tool for territorial development of regions and communities, which ultimately benefits the whole country and should be in the public interest.

State support for the development of cross-border cooperation at the regional and local levelshould be understood as a necessary investment that brings mutual benefits to all its partners. They will be able to use the opportunities offered by EU programmes for cross-border cooperation through various funding projects. In addition, such cooperation is of public interest to every European country. The state is obliged to be interested in this and provide opportunities to develop such cooperation. Therefore, in June 2024, the Law of Ukraine ‘On International Territorial Cooperation of Ukraine’ was recently adopted, which addresses a number of shortcomings and problems of local government functioning within the framework of international cooperation between territorial communities and regions of foreign countries.