Becoming part of EU “whe society effort” – Ambassador Mathernová

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

"Becoming part of the EU is a whe 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.

Read also: Ukrainian government sets up 36 working groups to negotiate Ukraine's accession to EU

Noting that regional and urban picy is one of the strong features of EU picies, the ambassador said, although deputy heads of regional bodies for Eurean integration are unlikely to play a re 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 Eurean Union were launched on June 25, 2024. This is the penultimate and most challenging stage of Eurean 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 Sevast, on issues of Eurean integration, and expects to see nominations from local authorities.

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