International U-LEAD experts Piotr Zuber and Moymir Mrak issued a policy paper on the role of local self-government in general and the Ministry of Reconstruction in particular in the process of Ukraine's accession to the EU.

For Ukraine, the EU accession process will take place in parallel with the reconstruction of a significant part of the country devastated by the ongoing war activities.

Bearing that in mind the overall objective of the policy paper is to provide policy and capacity-building advice to the Ministry of Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure on two subjects, the EU accession process in general, and especially in the areas of its competence, and on establishing structures and procedures that are in line with the requirements of the EU accession process and are conducive for effective absorption of the EU funds.

This policy paper is focused on:

• The EU accession process: main objectives, stages, changes over time
• The EU cohesion policy as the backbone of the member states’ regional development
• Absorption capacity for the EU cohesion funds: concept, experiences, and lessons learnt
• Guiding principles for setting up structures and procedures.