Ukraine and Catalonia signed three cooperation agreements with Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk and Lviv regions

Vitalii Bezghin: “Today, together with President of the Generalitat of Catalonia Salvador Illa Roca, we launched a new stage of cooperation. Three agreements were signed between Catalonia and Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk and Lviv regions.”

One area in which Catalonia’s experience is especially valuable to us is European cohesion policy. Ukraine’s accession to the EU will take place not only at the level of central institutions. A significant part of this work is the readiness of regions and communities to plan, prepare high-quality projects and work with European funds. Catalonia itself manages a regional ERDF programme worth around €840 million. This is exactly the practical experience we need in our work to reform the State Fund for Regional Development and strengthen regional capacity.

We proposed involving the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation in developing individual projects in a community in Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Areas of common interest include institutional development, urban planning, housing policy, education and healthcare.

“I thank Salvador Illa Roca and our Catalan partners for supporting Ukraine. We want these agreements to be more than statements of intent. That is why we are working towards tangible results in communities,” said Vitalii Bezghin, Minister for Communities, Territories and Internally Displaced Persons.