VOLYN TERRITORIAL COMMUNITIES IN THE STRUCTURE OF INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP

Abstract

An analysis of the forms and content of the participation of territorial communities in Volyn region in international partnerships, implementation of regional programmes and projects has been made in the article. The areas of joint activity of the regional authorities and territorial communities, business structures, public associations and institutions in the implementation of large-scale international programmes and projects has been revealed. The factual data on the number of international partnerships concluded by the territorial communities of Volyn Oblast with many countries of the world has been provided. It has been shown in the article that most cross-border agreements have been signed with communities in Poland and Germany, and there is also cooperation with municipalities in China, the United States, France, Argentina, Azerbaijan, etc. One of the most well-known and effective joint cross-border programmes between Ukraine and the Republic of Poland is INTERREG NEXT Poland-Ukraine, which has been implemented in several stages. A regular meeting of the monitoring committee of this programme was held in April 2024. In June 2024, the 4th Congress of Local Governments of the Three Seas Initiative was held in Lublin. The gradual phase-out of fossil coal, green recovery of Ukraine's energy sector and alternative models for the development of mining regions are the goals of a pilot project being implemented by the German Government on behalf of the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Infrastructure at the request of the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), that is planned to be implemented in the Novovolynsk, Litovezk and Poromivsk territorial communities of Volyn. In terms of interregional and cross-border cooperation, civil society institutions that deal with the development of local self-government, communities and territories play an important role. In March 2024, based on the results of additional selection and evaluation conducted by international experts, the Volyn Regional Development Agency became a new participant in the Swiss-Ukrainian project «Cohesion and Regional Development of Ukraine» UCORD.