23. 11. 2023 | PR, Regional cooperation, Slovenian Development Assistance, U-LEAD: with Europe
A signing of a Cooperation Agreement between Municipality Domžale (Slovenia) and City of Hnivan (Ukraine) concludes a successful first three-week mentorship visit under the auspices of the project ‘Post-conflict reconstruction in Ukraine’.
The solemn signing of the Cooperation Agreement at the closing ceremony of the mentorship visit was initiated by Mr Kuleshov, PhD, Mayor of the City of Hnivan and Ms Renata Kosec, M.SC, Mayor of Domžale and concludes the first three-week mentorship visit, focusing on sharing good practices on the civil protection system and project management. Cooperation agreement marks the first milestone of the partnership between Domžale and Hnivan, which began with this project and will continue based on the developed project concept in the field of strengthening the resilience of the municipality of Hnivan against natural and human-caused disasters with the invaluable contribution of good practices and knowledge from the Municipality of Domžale.
Mr Vitalii Mazur, Deputy Mayor of the City of Hnivan and Ms Ivanna Kuzminska, Specialist of the Department of Urban Planning and Architecture of the Hnivan City Council, were the mentees joining the three-week mentorship in Slovenia, mentored by Domžale mentors Mr Peter Gubanc, Head of Property Matters Department and Deputy Chief of Civil Protection at Domžale Municipality and Mr Aljoša Repanšek of the Public Utilities Department and member of the municipal headquarters civil protection.
In the first week, mentees focused their attention on the basics of project management, project writing and project funding and began preparing a frame for two projects they wish to implement in Hnivan with the help of expert Mr Klemen Srna and partners in Domžale. The topics of the second week focused on establishing a strong civil protection system in a hromada – with Domžale being a very positive example of the system running in practice. Mr Mazur and Ms Kuzminska first met with a representative of the Administration for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief of Slovenia, Ms Dobnik Jeraj, who presented the civil protection system on the national level. Representatives of Domžale Civil Protection presented their work in theory and practice, with the mentees meeting several stakeholders involved in running the civil protection system in Domžale (firefighters, voluntary fire brigades, cave rescue service, radio club Domžale, K9 rescue, Red Cross Domžale, scouts, first aid team and more). The second week also offered an opportunity for a visit to the central wastewater treatment plant Domžale-Kamnik, which was one of the additional topics of interest for the Ukrainian guests – Ukraine adopted a law on waste management in July 2023, which complies with EU waste management regulations, but the recycling and waste management system in Ukraine is still in its early stages with about 10% of the waste being recycled, so a visit to a wastewater and waste management facility, co-funded by EU funds, was an important point in the mentorship programme. Ukrainian mentees expressed their admiration for the working of the civil protection system as it involves many stakeholders but is still extremely reactive in all crises. Mentees also experienced one example in practice – a fire in a high-rise building, where they saw the system working in practice.
The third week focused on the topics of local administration related to the EU enlargement process, where the Mayor of Domžale, Ms Kosec, presented the important topic of transparency, integrity and tackling corruption at the municipal level. Additionally, representatives of Domžale municipality presented their experience and best practices in project preparation and cooperation. The municipality of Hnivan showed a positive attitude towards further development and capacity building in the field of relevant processes related to the processes of adaptation to EU standards during the accession process of Ukraine. The third week was also focused on drafting written tools with support from CEP Senior Advisor, Ms Jelka Klemenc, in creating practical and actionable plans for applying the adapted good practices in Ukraine. On Tuesday, the mentees were joined by an evaluation expert, Mr Gorazd Jenko, who presented project applications from the perspective of project evaluators, sharing insightful details on what evaluators focus on when reading project applications, how to ensure project sustainability and what could be the deal breakers when writing a project proposal.
The mentorship concluded on Wednesday with an internal debrief between mentors and mentees focused on the planning of future activities between the municipalities, followed by a closing event, where the Mayor of Domžale, Ms Kosec, and Mayor of Hnivan, Mr Kolushov, signed the Cooperation agreement – the first of its kind in this project cycle, signifying the importance of the project for Ukrainian and Slovenian side. Following the signing was the presentation from the mentees, who presented two project plans prepared with the help of new knowledge gained in the three weeks of activities, which will be elaborated and finalized during the project until the end of 2024; both are projects of cross-border cooperation between municipalities in accordance with the objectives of the project. Joining the closing event were also the representative of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Ms Nataša Kos, Minister Plenipotentiary, and representative of the Embassy of Ukraine in Slovenia, Ms Natalia Markevych Pritsa, Deputy Head of Mission, who shared their thoughts on the activities already done and congratulated Domžale and Hnivan of the formal signing of the Cooperation agreement.
Photos of the visit can be found in the Flickr gallery below:
The ‘Post-conflict reconstruction in Ukraine’ project is funded by the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs through the Slovenian Aid and Partnerships and implemented in partnership with ‘U-LEAD with Europe’. U-LEAD with Europe programme is a partnership of the Ukrainian government and the European Union, and its member states Germany, Poland, Denmark and Slovenia, to support the establishment of multi-level governance that is transparent, accountable and responsive to the needs of the population of Ukraine.
17. 11. 2023 | Macedonia - Finance, PR, Regional cooperation, Slovenian Development Assistance
Kliknite tukaj za branje prispevka v slovenskem jeziku.
From 27 to 29 November, the 3rd consultations will take place in North Macedonia within the framework of the project “Support in Chapter 24 – Financial investigations”, with the support of Slovenian development assistance. Our experts will share their knowledge on the valuation and calculation of assets of illicit origin, criminal investigation of proceeds of crime and conducting financial investigations from a prosecutor’s perspective.
The consultation will be followed by workshops from 29 November to 1 December, focusing on sharing experiences and good practices on financial investigation procedures according to standards carried out in EU Member States. Special emphasis will be placed on the support of Macedonian financial investigators to be more familiar with such practices, with the aim of enhancing their capacity to conduct financial investigations more effectively.
Activities are funded by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and 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.
Further information:
Milanka Ilić
Project Manager
Centre for European Perspective
Activities are funded by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and 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.
9. 11. 2023 | PR, Regional cooperation, Slovenian Development Assistance, U-LEAD: with Europe
On November 7th, we began the first three-week mentorship visits under the auspices of the project ‘Post-conflict reconstruction in Ukraine’ at the municipality of Domžale.
The ‘Post-conflict reconstruction in Ukraine’ project is funded by the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs through the Slovenian Aid and Partnerships and implemented in partnership with ‘U-LEAD with Europe’ and aims to provide targeted transfer of knowledge and experience on the part of Slovenian municipalities and build the institutional capacities of Ukrainian municipalities, as well as establish arrangements for fostering cross-border partnerships between Slovenian and Ukrainian municipalities.
The first mentorship is taking place in the Slovenian municipality Domžale, which currently hosts two mentees from the Ukrainian municipality Hnivan. The programme of the mentorship is rich, encapsulating the needs mentioned by the Hnivan municipality (strengthening civil protection service at the municipality) as well as addressing topics crucial for further development of the municipality, such as project management, project writing and topics related to EU enlargement process on the local level. The municipality of Domžale, with its rich experience in civil protection, offers great knowledge not only through the presentation of good practices but also through site visits of stakeholders involved in the civil protection system of the municipality. Another expressed interest of Hnivan municipality was the waste management system of municipality Domžale, so the first site visit of the mentorship focused on the work of the central wastewater treatment plant Domžale-Kamnik, the history of the construction of the wastewater treatment plant, funding of the construction, as well as the upgrade of the plant, pointing out all the advantages for the people, region and environment.
In the next weeks, representatives of Hnivan hromada will learn more about project planning, preparation and management, project funding, civil protection and emergency preparedness and resilience building through interactive workshops and site visits.
Photos of the visit can be seen below:
The ‘Post-conflict reconstruction in Ukraine’ project is funded by the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs through the Slovenian Aid and Partnerships and implemented in partnership with ‘U-LEAD with Europe’. U-LEAD with Europe programme is a partnership of the Ukrainian government and the European Union, and its member states Germany, Sweden, Poland, Denmark, Estonia and Slovenia to support the establishment of multi-level governance that is transparent, accountable and responsive to the needs of the population of Ukraine.
3. 11. 2023 | PR, Regional cooperation, Strategic Communication, Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Foreign Perpetrated Disinformation in 6 Western Balkans Countries
Novica v slovenščini je dostopna TUKAJ.
Project Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Foreign Perpetrated Disinformation in the Western Balkans spent the last week on the road, visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.
The tailor-made program for Bosnia and Herzegovina delivered some twenty participants from different sectors of the country discussions on the most relevant issues for Bosnia and Herzegovina when it comes to countering foreign perpetrated disinformation: how to define and regulate such phenomenon, how to address it in a country that has a complex state structure, what role it will play in the EU accession process, and what are the pitfalls of current business models of media and NGOs. In addition, an expert from the Finnish Mediapooli led a workshop on Countering Disinformation through a Strategic Risk Approach to Media Landscape, which sparked interesting exchanges and a lively debate among participants.
In Serbia, the project held a highly productive working meeting with some key actors in the field of countering disinformation, who had the opportunity to learn about the good practice examples of Estonia and Finland, as well as to hear about the new developments, initiatives and expectations coming from the EU. The meeting was marked by a high-quality discussion between participants, which strengthened the existing and established new networks, that will invaluably contribute to further work of the project in Serbia.
In both Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, the project held closed-door consultations with the representatives of the Council of Ministers and the Government Ministries, respectively. The purpose of these consultations was both to present the objectives and the way forward for the project and to gain insight and feedback on the implementation of the whole-of-government approach in countering foreign perpetrated disinformation.
The project will continue to work with both countries as well as with the rest of the Western Balkan region in the coming months, and looks forward to the remaining visits to Albania, Montenegro, and Kosovo.
The Project Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Disinformation in the Western Balkans is funded by the National Endowment for Democracy and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovenia through development cooperation funds.
26. 10. 2023 | Decentralisation, local self-government, PR, Regional cooperation, Slovenian Development Assistance, U-LEAD: with Europe
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.
3. 10. 2023 | PR, Regional cooperation, Slovenian Development Assistance, U-LEAD: with Europe
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.
