Becoming part of EU “whole society effort” - Ambassador Mathernová

The European Union supports the initiative to create the position of deputy chair for European integration at the level of regional and military administrations because regional policy is one of the strong features of EU policy as a whole.

EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarína Mathernová stated this in an interview with Ukrinform.

"Becoming part of the EU is a whole society effort and, in that sense, it's really important to have an understanding of how the EU functions at all levels of government. And once you’re in the EU, the regional and local level will be an important partner to similar entities in other member states," Mathernová said.

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Noting that regional and urban policy is one of the strong features of EU policies, the ambassador said, although deputy heads of regional bodies for European integration are unlikely to play a role in the actual accession negotiations, they can become partners “capable of bringing the EU to the regional and local level" and able to use funds at this level.

"So we welcome this. But this is not something that the EU prescribes because it's up to each individual country to organize itself internally," said Katarína Mathernová.

She added that the EU would support the initiative through training and peer-to-peer learning.

As reported, official negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union were launched on June 25, 2024. This is the penultimate and most challenging stage of European integration.

Read also: Ukraine should be technically ready to join EU, NATO immediately after victory - PM

On August 20, the Cabinet of Ministers introduced the positions of deputy heads of regional and military administrations, cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol, on issues of European integration, and expects to see nominations from local authorities.

Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna explained that these deputy heads would deal with the issue of European integration and international technical assistance within the framework of domestic policy, not diplomatic efforts.