On November 15, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna took part in the event "Presentation of the Programme of the Ukrainian Presidency of the European Union Strategy for the Danube Region".

During the event, participants discussed the determined priorities and activities of the Presidency of Ukraine, as well as considered the Presidency Programme with partners in the EU Strategy for the Danube Region.

"The EU Strategy for the Danube Region is one of the documents of vision and policy-making that directly relate to the European Union. Ukraine had shown leadership and stated its strive to chair the Strategy, which was unanimously supported by the partners. This reaffirms that the EU recognizes the important role of strategic partners - countries that are important for the development of the region," said Olha Stefanyshina during a panel discussion "EU macro-regional strategy as a tool for European integration."

During its presidency, Ukraine will focus on environmental protection, green transformation, economic development, and overcoming the negative effects of the pandemic as well.

The Deputy Prime Minister told that Ukraine had prepared well for the presidency: the Government had already approved the Presidency Action Plan, which envisages a number of measures in the areas covered by the Strategy. The Ukrainian side also began the process of consultations on expanding Ukraine's participation in the Danube Strategy to other regions of Ukraine, in particular to Lviv, Ternopil, Khmelnytsky, Vinnytsia and Kirovohrad regions.

"We were given a chance to become the first country that, without being a member of the EU, received the right to chair the Danube Strategy. For us, this is a great responsibility and an opportunity to bring added value to the Strategy. As the presidency lasts a year, it is not much time to implement comprehensive decisions and thorough transformations, so we strive to continue the work of Slovakia, which presided in 2020, and will coordinate closely with the country that will preside over after Ukraine," said Olha Stefanyshina.

The Deputy Prime Minister added that cross-border cooperation issues were identified as an absolute priority of European integration: "Realizing the importance and unique benefits for cooperation between countries, exchange of experience and joint response to challenges, we also initiated this year the process of joining by Ukraine the macro-regional EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. We are grateful that the European Commission at DG REGIO* supports this initiative."

The event was attended by representatives of the ministries of Ukraine, heads of regional state administrations, international partners in the EU Strategy for the Danube Region and representatives of the expert community.

Background

The Danube Strategy is the European Union's macro-regional strategy for the Danube region, a platform and action plan for cooperation between 14 countries. Currently, the Ukrainian part of the Strategy covers Odesa, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi and Zakarpattia regions.

*DG REGIO - The Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (Directorate-General for European Regional Policy).