Representatives of Zhytomyr, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kamianets-Podilskyi and Chernivtsi municipalities took part in the final forum on results of implementing the “Support to Strengthen Partnerships between Ukrainian and European Municipalities with Focus on Business Opportunities” Project, held on 22 August 2024. The event was organised by the Association of Ukrainian Cities.

Project Aim – establishing business partnership between municipalities of Ukraine and the EU countries in the field of local economic development and maintaining business relations in designated priority sectors of the economy at respective municipalities.

The final forum featured presentations of the results and initiatives made possible by the Project.

Presenting the results of cooperation between municipalities and businesses of Chernivtsi and Metz (French Republic)

Serhii Bostan, Director of the Department of Socio-Economic Development and Strategic Planning of Chernivtsi City Council, noted that during the visit to Metz, the Ukrainian delegation got familiar with the local government system in detail, learned about the benefits of merging municipalities in the metropolis for joint economic development. In addition, a number of meetings and negotiations were held to establish an inter-municipal partnership between Metz Eurometropole and Chernivtsi region. The exchange of information on implementing alternative energy sources proved to be extremely informative. As a result, an agreement was reached to organise an internship in Metz for Chernivtsi energy specialists, as well as expert support in the elborating green energy projects.

Violeta Moskalu, Advisor to the Mayor of Metz, Associate Lecturer in Management Sciences, Responsible for the Franco-Ukrainian University Diploma in Management and International Business at IAE Metz School of Management CEREFIGE - University of Lorraine, drew attention to defining a number of important areas for cooperation, namely:

• establishing inter-municipal partnerships to implement joint economic projects;
• exchange of knowledge and experience in arranging and obtaining European funds for local economic development projects;
• signing an agreement on further cooperation to support small and medium-sized enterprises;
• identifying potential areas of cooperation to stimulate local economic development.

At the same time, agreements were reached on systematic involvement of new partners in cooperation, advocacy and assistance to the integration of Ukrainian producers in the EU. That all will contribute to the sustainable economic development of municipalities.

Presenting the results of cooperation between municipalities and businesses Zhytomyr and Vila Nova de Famalicão (Portuguese Republic)

Viktoria Sychova, Director of the Economic Development Department of Zhytomyr City Council, underlined that during the study visit, Portuguese colleagues from the Vila Nova de Famalicão City Council shared useful experience in contributing to the development of small and medium-sized businesses, which is provided to entrepreneurs at the local level. She noted that as a result of the meetings, the list of sectors for further cooperation between municipalities and business representatives from both sides was expanded.

In addition, Sychova V. admitted the effectiveness of the B2B meetings, during which the representatives of the Ukrainian delegation had the opportunity to obtain valuable information on the certification of products in accordance with the EU requirements and outline the steps and directions for further work and cooperation.

Paula Dourado, Head of the Strategic Planning, Entrepreneurship and International Relations Department at Câmara Municipal de Vila Nova de Famalicão asserted that the negotiations resulted in a number of important agreements for further development, in particular:

• priority areas of inter-municipal cooperation have been identified;
• agreement on a visit of the Portuguese delegation to Zhytomyr has been reached;
• expert support in certification of Ukrainian goods for the EU market has been provided;
• exchange of experience in digitalisation and green certification has been supported;
• municipalitiescooperation between municipalities in the area of ​​supporting local small and medium-sized businesses has been planned.

Presenting the results of cooperation between municipalities and businesses Ivano-Frankivsk and Jelgava (Republic of Latvia)

Tetiana Revchuk, Head of the Department of Municipal Policy, Energy Saving and Ecology at the Department of Economic Development, Ecology and Energy Conservation of Ivano-Frankivsk City Council, outlined that during the trip to Latvia, the delegation held a number of meetings with representatives of the municipality, local business and innovation hubs of Jelgava, which resulted in joint project work of municipalities to support small and medium-sized businesses. The possibilities of using IT software products to improve the efficiency of municipal enterprises have been investigated. The experience of the Jelgava Region Human Resource Development Centre has been studied, in particular, the mechanisms for attracting and retaining the municipality's human resources, and programmes to support local entrepreneurs..

Rita Lichahina-Timofieieva, Chief Public Relations and Marketing Specialist of the Public Relations Department at Jelgava Municipality, outlined several areas for further cooperation, as Ukrainian and Latvian municipalities have many areas of common interest for business development and business partnership. She highlighted the experience of cooperation with local entrepreneurs and support for small and medium-sized businesses, introduced by Ivano-Frankivsk City Council. There are also significant prospects for exchanging IT solutions that can optimise the interaction between municipalities and businesses. Agreements have been also reached to involve Ivano-Frankivsk businesses in promotional events held by the Jelgava municipality, and to boost joint projects to support the development of craft production, cultural and social initiatives.

Presenting the results of cooperation between municipalities and businesses of Kamianets-Podilskyi – Kutna Hora (Czech Republic)

Nataliia Poliova, Head of the Industry, Entrepreneurship, Trade and Services Branch at the Department of Economics and Urban Infrastructure Development of Kamianets-Podilskyi City Council, noted that the study business visit carried on meetings where key requests from municipalities and local businesses were worked out  for further elaboration and implementation of joint projects. She focused on the practice of cooperation between large industrial producers and the municipality, introduced in Kutná Hora, and highlighted the benefits of establishing such a partnership between government and business.

Kristina Shymonova, Head of the Department of Tourism and External Relations at Kutná Hora Municipality, pointed out the significant prospects for estalishing tourism business between municipalities. She outlined the steps for their implementation in the coming months.

Overall results of the project implementation

Mariana Kononchuk, Expert on Cooperation between Ukrainian and EU Municipalities, noted that municipalities have become ambassadors of their country at the international level. Ukraine has taken another step towards integration into the European community. That is why the Association of Ukrainian Cities will promote the dissemination of gained experience to the 1061 municipalities that are already members of the Association. After all, the development of small and medium-sized businesses will contribute to local budget revenues, and thus to the sustainability of municipalities and Ukraine as a whole.

Taras Malyshivskyi, Expert on Business Cooperation between Municipalities of Ukraine and EU Countries, Association of Ukrainian Cities, з питань співпраці бізнесу України та країн ЄС, Асоціація міст України, said that despite the tight deadlines, all participants carried out the necessary settins of the project, which are indicators of high interest, organisation and proactive position.

Valeriia Kolesnichenko, Project Coordinator at the «EU4Business: SME Recovery, Competitiveness and Internationalisation» GIZ Program, noted that thanks to implementing such projects, representatives of regional small and medium-sized businesses get the opportunity to enter international markets and obtain a qualitatively new impetus for business development. Partnerships with EU countries at the level of municipalities and local businesses are extremely important today in the context of strengthening the economic stability of municipalities and the recovery of Ukraine as a whole. The experience gained will be scaled up and spread to other municipalities in the future.

Liudmyla Damentsova, Project Manager at “Promoting Comprehensive Development of Municipalities through Analytics, Dialogue and International Cooperation” the AUC Project, noted that thanks to the joint work, cohesion, and activity of all participants in a fairly short period of time, it was possible to achieve the planned results that were foreseen by the project, to initiate new partnership relations and to agree on further interaction between municipalities and representatives of the business community of Ukraine and EU countries, which is the basis of joint development and European integration.

The event was arranged by the All-Ukrainian Association of Local Governments "Association of Ukrainian Cities" within the framework of the International Cooperation Program "EU4Business: SME Recovery, Competitiveness and Internationalisation", which is jointly financed by the European Union and the German government. It is implemented by the German federal company Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.`

The program is aimed at supporting the economic stability, recovery and growth of Ukraine, creating better conditions for the development of Ukrainian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as supporting innovation and exports.

You can find more details via the link: www.eu4business.org.ua.

The content of the publication is the sole responsibility of the All-Ukrainian Association of Local Governments “Association of Ukrainian Cities” and does not necessarily reflect the position of the European Union, the German government, GIZ

To read the Ukrainian version of the article, please click the link.