The seminar "Preparing Locally for EU Accession" will take place on 29 June at the European Committee of the Regions in Brussels, organised by SALAR International. The seminar brings together the experiences of four countries on the path to the EU — Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, North Macedonia and Ukraine — where SALAR International supports local authorities in their reforms. The event agenda is structured around three sessions: the impact of EU accession on local authorities and new assessments of this impact; the evolving EU enlargement process and how to advance towards gradual integration; and pre-accession assistance and reform agendas, specifically looking at the local dimension of European funding.

The discussion will be launched by Ukrainian hromadas. Zlatopil will share its experience of the green transition despite the war; Teofipol will outline how it is building an integrated energy system; Opishnia will present its approach to developing a sustainable rural economy; and Savyntsi will show how a community just twenty kilometres from the front line is building resilience. 

The seminar will bring together representatives from the European Commission, the European Parliament, the European Committee of the Regions, think tanks, local government associations, national officials, and local government leaders from candidate countries.

The Ukrainian delegation will also hold meetings at several Directorates-General of the European Commission (specifically those responsible for enlargement and regional policy), the European Parliament, and the European Committee of the Regions. The participation of the hromadas in this visit is supported by experts from the Cities4Cities initiative, which implements the international municipal cooperation component of the Polaris Programme. They assist communities in establishing cooperation with European partners and developing joint projects. The core message that the hromadas are bringing to Brussels is simple: they are no longer just recipients of aid, but full partners in Europe’s resilience.

As a reminder, Ukraine and the Committee of the Regions are working towards transitioning to a Joint Consultative Committee format — a permanent dialogue platform for local and regional authorities with equal representation from both sides. For the hromadas, this represents a direct channel of influence on how European integration takes the local level into account. An analytical report on the impact of EU integration on local authorities will also be presented at the seminar to substantiate this work.

The seminar will be livestreamed online on 29 June from 09:30 to 15:30.

Join us: https://webstreaming.cor.europa.eu/en/cor/preparing-locally-for-eu-accession-lmpact-assessments-reform-agendas-and-local-readiness-in-bosnia-herzegovina-moldova-and-ukraine