This week, the European Week of Regions and Cities (EWRC 2025) is taking place in Brussels. The annual event brings together representatives of European and Ukrainian central and local authorities, experts, academics, and civil society organizations. EWRC serves as a key platform for strengthening cooperation between Ukrainian Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) and their European partners.
The Ukrainian delegation is led by Deputy Minister for Communities and Territories Development Oleksiy Ryabikin. The delegation also includes the heads of the Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zakarpattia, and Chernivtsi regional military administrations.
As part of the European Week of Regions and Cities, a roundtable titled “Regional Development as the Basis of Ukraine’s Path to EU Integration” was held. The discussion focused on sharing experience in governance, fund management, and innovation in regional policy, as well as strengthening the institutional capacity of Ukrainian RDAs.
Oleksiy Ryabikin thanked European partners for their support and emphasized that regional development in Ukraine is not only about the economy and infrastructure. It is about state resilience, public trust, and a shared European future.
“Our goal is simple and pragmatic: to strengthen Regional Development Agencies as operational hubs for recovery and integration. We want to turn support into capacity, and capacity into sustainable community development. The Ministry is ready to provide coordination, regulatory support, and integration of best practices into state regional development policy,” Ryabikin said.
During the discussions, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shared insights on how regional governance drives development. France shared experiences on macro-regionalization—cooperation between territories connected by common challenges, economic ties, or natural resources—and on local fund management. Croatia presented practical advice and lessons from its EU integration journey.
For Ukraine, this represents valuable experience in building an effective system of interaction between regions, the state, and European structures.
To formalize support and cement shared intentions, the European Association of Development Agencies (EURADA) and Ukrainian RDAs signed a Memorandum of Understanding. This confirmed systematic partnership, regular exchange of experience, and joint initiatives at the international level.
Over 40 representatives from Ukrainian and European institutions participated in the roundtable, including six pilot RDAs (Vinnytsia, Volyn, Odesa, Sumy, Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi), key EURADA partners, UCORD, OECD experts, colleagues from France and Croatia, as well as representatives of the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers, the Ministry of Development, the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture, and regional administrations.
