Minister Vitalii Bezghin met Themis Christophidou, Director-General for Regional and Urban Policy at the European Commission

They discussed how to adapt European funding instruments to the needs of Ukrainian territories, which differ in security conditions and their capacity to prepare projects.

They presented an approach based on functional types of territories, with appropriate funding instruments and criteria for each. They proposed establishing a joint working group to develop it in accordance with EU requirements.

They also discussed JASPERS: assistance with project preparation can help level the starting conditions.

They discussed the future of EU cohesion policy in the 2028–2034 multiannual financial framework, including Ukraine's participation in Interreg programmes.

Equal rules do not always mean equal opportunities. The Ministry is working to ensure that European cohesion policy takes this into account.