At the 12th Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region held under the Slovenian Presidency, CEP’s Executive Director, Ms Nina Čepon, contributed to the panel discussion titled ”Bottom-up recovery and transformation of Ukraine–Supporting Ukraine and Moldova on their way to the EU” on the 24th of October.
She shed light on CEP’s impactful collaboration with Ukrainian municipalities, a process initiated back in 2018 under the scope of the Programme ‘U-LEAD with Europe’ implemented by the German organization GIZ in Ukraine. The dedication to enhancing Ukrainian municipalities continues through our ongoing development project titled ‘Post-Conflict Reconstruction in Ukraine’ funded by the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and implemented in partnership with ‘U-LEAD with Europe’.
This project remains committed to transferring knowledge tailored to specific needs and providing sustainable assistance to Ukrainian municipalities as they advance in their development, modernization and contribute to the Ukrainian path toward EU membership while dealing with the everyday challenges of wartime. Activities are focusing on topics such as green transition, civil protection and resilience, economic development, anti-corruption and transparency in local governance, and deliver an important skillset to raise their absorption capacities in terms of donor engagement, namely those of efficient planning, project appraisal and obtainment of external funding.
Čepon emphasised that Ukrainian municipalities are set to play a pivotal role in post-conflict reconstruction and development in Ukraine as they are forward-looking, and they strive toward economic development and other objectives despite being faced with their complex everyday circumstances at this time. Slovenia’s wealth of experience in modernization and the EU accession process promises to bring significant, concrete value.
A successful consultation meeting on Slovenian-Ukrainian cooperation and aid to Ukraine in post-conflict reconstruction and modernization was held yesterday at Jable Castle.
The event, organised with the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the Association of Municipalities and Towns of Slovenia (SOS), followed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Republic of Slovenia and U-LEAD with Europe Programme, and was intended to analyze the achievements to date, good practices in the cooperation projects of Slovenian municipalities with Ukraine to date, and a look into the future of cooperation between Slovenia and Ukraine in the field of post-conflict reconstruction and modernization. i.e. current needs, challenges and our tasks in advance.
Joining us were the Mayor of Domžale, mag. Renata Kosec, Mayor of Hrastnik, Mr Marko Funkl, Mayor of Logatec, Mr Berto Menard, Mayor of Idrija, Mr Tomaž Vencelj, Mayor of Kočevje, Dr Vladimir Prebilič, and Mayor of Lenart, Mr Janez Kramberger. We were delighted to welcome the delegation from the Ukrainian municipality Bucha, with the First Secretary of the Bucha City Council, Mr Taras Sharapivsky and the Head of International Relations of the City Council, Ms Viktoriya Danilova.
The discussions touched upon the Slovenian-Ukrainian cooperation of municipalities within the U-LEAD with Europe initiative “Bridges of Trust” and the CEP-led project Post-conflict reconstruction in Ukraine, financed by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia. Both projects aim to improve the institutional capacity of Ukrainian communities Bibrka, Bucha, Drohobych, Hnivan, Krynychansk, Pereščepensk and Polyana, in the spheres of reconstruction and local development, as well as in terms of nationwide efforts for accession to the EU. The mentorship program will be implemented by the Slovenian municipalities of Domžale, Hrastnik, Idrija, Lenart, Logatec, Kočevje and Puconci with the assistance of Slovenian experts.
During the event, the municipality of Kočevje signed a cooperation agreement with the city of Bucha with the intention of deepening cooperation in various fields, business relationships in the field of high-technology development.
Bucha’s representatives are continuing their visit to Kočevje today, where they met with representatives of the Japanese company Yaskawa and representatives of the Kočevje business area. They will also join the festivities on the municipal holiday.
The project and the event are funded by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovenia through development cooperation funds.
We’re always happy to welcome guests at our beautiful castle, and today we were able to host not only one but two delegations working towards the same goal – preparing their countries to join the European Union in the shortest and fastest manner.
Mr Zurab Khamashuridze, Director, Department of European Integration, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was heading the delegation of the Parliament of Georgia, which is a national coordinating body for all activities related to the process of EU integration. The discussion evolved around CEP experiences with candidate countries and 12 priorities set by the European Commission to be addressed by Georgian authorities before being granted candidate status. Building on good past cooperation on the digital diplomacy program, it was agreed that we can upgrade our relationships and provide concrete support in priorities linked to the rule of law, anti-corruption measures, and involvement of civil society in decision-making processes, to name a few.
State Secretary from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of North Macedonia, Mr Filip Toseski, attended bilateral consultations with his Slovenian counterparts and paid a visit to CEP. As this was his first visit to Slovenia, we presented the four pillars that CEP is working on, and we were happy to learn that he has already heard about interesting and useful CEP training courses. Topics of concrete Slovenian support to North Macedonia were discussed, not forgetting to praise the already established good cooperation between the Specialized State Prosecution Office, the Financial Police and the Customs Administration from both countries in the framework of bilateral cooperation on financial investigations supported by Slovenian Aid.
It was agreed that Slovenia has valuable expertise that can be utilised by North Macedonian colleagues to accelerate their way towards full membership of the European Union.
With the first online meeting, cooperation between the municipalities of Zavodska and Domžale officially began within the framework of the development project of the Republic of Slovenia, “Reconstruction of Ukraine”, which is supported by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia in cooperation with ‘U-LEAD with Europe’.
On 30 August 2023, the Centre for European Perspective held the first online working meeting between the mayor of the Ukrainian municipality of Zavodske and the mayor of the Slovenian municipality of Domžale, which officially started their cooperation in the project “Reconstruction of Ukraine”. In the next 18 months, a mentoring program will be implemented in Slovenia, which will strengthen the capacities of the municipality of Zavodske in the field of post-conflict reconstruction and modernization and contribute to other goals of long-term international cooperation. The targeted transfer of knowledge and experience during the project is guided by the specific needs of the municipality of Zavodske, which is currently facing complex challenges both in the provision of services that its residents rely on the most in this time of crisis as well as challenges in the field of local development and modernization.
The three-week mentoring visit to Domžale will take place in October 2023. It will transfer helpful experience and knowledge in establishing an effective civil protection system and responding to natural and other disasters, which, according to the city council secretary, are the Institute’s priority topics. Competent Slovenian state institutions will transfer key knowledge and experience to the mentees in planning and management at the national (intersectoral) level and the role of the local level. The Civil Defense of the Municipality of Domžale, fire brigades and other local organizations will also contribute, and they will also show the mentees the practical aspects of their work, including recent experiences of responding to devastating floods. The Municipality of Zavodske, with the support of Slovenian experts, will prepare plans or strategic documents that will contribute to more efficient planning and acquisition of financial resources in relevant areas.
Background
From 2023 to 2024, the Center for the European Perspective (CEP) will implement the project “Post-conflict Reconstruction in Ukraine”, financed by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia. The project is taking place in cooperation with ‘U-LEAD with Europe’, implemented in Ukraine by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit – GIZ. The project will enable the contribution of five Slovenian municipalities (Domžale, Hrastnik, Idrija, Kočevje and Murska Sobota) in the role of mentors to the partner municipalities of Bucha, Drohobych, Zavodske, Tiachiv and Vilnohirsk.
The mentoring municipalities will help the target municipalities (‘hromadam’) in Ukraine to face those challenges of early reconstruction and modernization, which will be easier to overcome in this kind of cooperation and will help to strengthen their capacities. Thus, the mentoring program for key representatives of the mentioned target municipalities, who will be visiting the mentoring municipalities in the Republic of Slovenia during this time, will contain the transfer of knowledge, experience and good practices, including those related to the technical requirements of the process of Ukraine’s approximation to the EU. By the end of 2024, the target municipalities will, with the help of the project’s support, also develop strategic tools for planning reconstruction and modernization, planning resources and obtaining financial resources adapted to the needs of each municipality.
Slovenia’s key contribution will have a positive impact on the lives of people in Ukrainian communities and their regions by helping to strengthen local capacities, which are most relied on in this time of crisis, in a sustainable manner and with appropriate placement, among other ongoing early recovery measures in Ukraine its inhabitants. While cooperation between some Slovenian and Ukrainian municipalities has already been established, the project will enable new opportunities for partnerships and further cooperation between Slovenia and Ukraine – both in post-conflict reconstruction and in meeting the requirements on its path to EU membership.
In North Macedonia, activities to strengthen the capacity of Macedonian institutions to carry out financial investigations continued between 3 and 7 July 2023 in the framework of the project ” Support in Chapter 24 – Financial investigations “. The project is being implemented with Slovenian development assistance. This was the second consultation this year, followed by workshops. Both activities focused on the processing of real cases and the procedures for conducting financial investigations in line with EU standards.
The consultations took place in Skopje, and the workshops that followed in the east of the country (Kočani). The activities were conducted with the participation of Slovenian experts from the Specialised State Prosecution Office, the Financial Administration, and the Police, while on the Macedonian side, they were attended by representatives of the institutions responsible for financial investigations in North Macedonia from the ranks of the Public Prosecution Office, the Ministry of the Interior (Police), the Financial Police and the Customs Administration. The consultations were first held with each institution individually and then continued with group work in the workshop part of the program, involving all institutions at the same time.
Participants in the consultations and workshops renewed their gratitude once again to Slovenia and representatives of Slovenian investigative and prosecuting authorities for their help and support in implementing changes in their institutions in the context of EU accession regarding the conduct of financial investigations and the confiscation of assets of illicit origin and proceeds of crime. In particular, they were thankful to the Slovenian experts for sharing their knowledge, advice, and practical experience in dealing with real cases. The discussion gave them the opportunity to check and validate their practices and to identify areas and steps that still need to be improved to progress. As extremely positive and welcome, the Macedonian participants saw the opportunity to bring together the different Macedonian institutions in charge of financial investigations in the same place and the possibility to exchange experiences and good practices among them at the same time. They also welcomed the fact that they will be able to put into practice immediately everything they have learned in the consultations and workshops.
Activities are funded by the Republic of Slovenia through its International Development Cooperation Programme and implemented in cooperation with the State Prosecution, Financial Administration, Ministry of the Interior, and the Police of the Republic of Slovenia.
With Slovenian development assistance, capacity-building activities in financial investigations will continue in North Macedonia between 4 and 7 July 2023.
In the framework of the project “Support in Chapter 24 – Financial investigations”, consultations and workshops will be held for the institutions responsible for financial investigations in North Macedonia. During consultations and workshops, Slovene experts from the Specialised State Prosecutor’s Office, the Financial Administration and the Police will share their experience in dealing with real-life cases with their Macedonian colleagues.
Activities are funded by the Republic of Slovenia through its International Development Cooperation Programme and implemented in cooperation with the State Prosecution, Financial Administration, Ministry of the Interior, and the Police of the Republic of Slovenia.
