Following the start of EU accession negotiations with Ukraine in summer 2024, the Department of Law and International Relations and the European Documentation Centre Krems, together with the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (TSNUK) and the Ukrainian Center for Innovations Development (CID), held a seminar on EU integration for local authorities ("gromadas") in Ukraine from October 28 to 30, 2024.
The University for Continuing Education Krems (UWK) aims to support Ukraine in its preparations for the EU accession negotiations, with a particular focus on the comprehensive economic, political, and legal efforts that the accession process entails for the level of local authorities.
For the three-day pilot seminar "EU Integration for Ukrainian Local Communities," Univ. Prof. DDr. Thomas Ratka, LL.M., Head of the Department of Legal Studies and International Relations and Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Business and Globalization, could welcome more than 20 Ukrainian participants from 15 different "gromadas" to Campus Krems on behalf of UWK. He opened the seminar, which was also broadcast online as a webinar, together with TSNUK Vice-Rector for International Cooperation Prof. Dr. Kseniia Smyrnova, Prof. Dr. Mariana Orliv (Head of the Department of European Integration Policy, Educational and Scientific Institute of Public Administration, TSNUK), and Kateryna Ivanchenko (CEO CID).
The first day of the seminar was dedicated to lectures by the Department of Legal Studies and International Relations on, initially, the basics of EU law and EU institutions (Prof. Ratka) as well as EU enlargement policy and the accession process (MMag.a Susanne Fraczek). This was followed by knowledge transfer in selected areas of EU law, specifically EU economic law (Prof. Ratka), intellectual property law and data law (Univ.-Prof. Ing. Dr. Clemens Appl, LL.M.), and access to justice/arbitration and alternative dispute resolution (Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gabriel M. Lentner and Prof. Dr. Iryna Izarova). The first day was rounded off with a campus tour by Dr. Hélène Oberlé, MA from the UWK Service Center for International Relations, and a welcome dinner at a traditional Heurigen in Krems-Stein, providing an opportunity for networking in a relaxed atmosphere.
On the second day of the seminar, participants, with inputs by colleagues from TSNUK and CID, dealt with practice-oriented topics identified as relevant to their work in the communities: evidence-based decision-making and data science (Katerina Ivanchenko, CID), human-centered design for decision-making and change implementation (Prof. Dr. Mariana Orliv, TSNUK), EU funds grant acquisition and project management (Assoc. Prof. Dr. Viktoriya Gura, TSNUK), and soft skills related to problem-solving (Prof. Dr. Ganna Kharlamova, TSNUK). The afternoon programme included an excursion to the Parliament in Vienna, where the group received comprehensive information not only about the building but also about the Austrian political system and the legislative process in a special guided tour.
The third day of the seminar on October 30 comprised a networking event with Lower Austrian interlocutors from the regional and local levels, organized with support of the Department International and European Affairs in the Office of the Provincial Government of Lower Austria. During this event, the Ukrainian participants learned a lot about the EU activities of the province of Lower Austria, the importance of regional networks, and EU funding opportunities for local authorities (especially under Interreg) from Elias Pirker, MSc, and Mag.a Hajnalka Triteos-Meidlik. As an important case study for EU-funded cross-border cooperation in the health sector, Florian Lochner, MA, from the State Health Agency presented the "Healthacross" initiative. Under the motto "Building bridges," the Ukrainian community representatives also exchanged experiences and daily challenges in their work amid the ongoing Russian war of aggression with Matthias Hartmann, MA, Mayor of Unterstinkenbrunn, and Dr. Roman Friedrich, EU Local Councillor in Tulln. Their accounts demonstrated a tremendous degree of resilience, adaptability, and forward-thinking, which hopefully can form the basis for future cooperation – especially in terms of supporting Ukraine on its path towards the European Union.
The pilot seminar "EU Integration for Ukrainian Local Communities" was financially supported by the Ukraine Office Austria, the OeAD Cooperation Office Lviv, and the EU Erasmus+ program. The organisation of the seminar was based on the Memorandum of Understanding on enhancing cooperation concluded between UWK and TSNUK in December 2023 and was supported by the UWK’s Service Center for International Relations.
Further note:
The Department of Building and Environment at UWK is currently working on a research project led by Priv.-Doz. Dr. Svitlana Bilenkova on the topic "The Reconstruction of Austria after the Second World War – A Model for Ukraine?" and held a bilateral symposium on this topic on September 12, 2024.
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