Authors: Olena Kalinina, Miodrag Kolić

 

The article was prepared by Olena Kalinina and Miodrag Kolić as a result of close and fruitful cooperation between U-LEAD with Europe and the Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South East Europe (NALAS). Within U-LEAD’s Bridges of Trust initiative partners have implemented 3 projects since 2023 to support partnerships between Ukrainian municipalities and their counterparts across Europe and to strengthen the knowledge and skills of Ukrainian municipalities in EU fundraising and project management.

The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of U-LEAD with Europe, the European Union or its Member States: Germany, Denmark, France, Austria, Poland and Slovenia.

---

 

As Ukraine is going through an exceptionally challenging period – simultaneously confronting a full-scale war, advancing its recovery, and pursuing EU accession – it is becoming increasingly evident that municipalities play a pivotal role in all these processes. They are not only leading the reconstruction of their areas and ensuring the continuity of local services but also translating and implementing EU legislation and standards at the local level. It goes without saying that for Ukraine’s recovery to be effective, sustainable, and inclusive, municipal capacities need to be strengthened. One powerful way to do so is through municipal cooperation and knowledge exchange.

The Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe (NALAS) has been supporting Ukrainian municipalities in partnership building since 2023. Supported by U-LEAD with Europe, NALAS was building cooperation bridges between 30 Ukrainian municipalities and their peers from EU Member States and candidate countries, namely Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, Romania, North Macedonia and Moldova. These activities are an integral part of the Bridges of Trust Community, a framework that brings together organisations that focus on establishing new and deepening existing partnerships and cooperation between Ukrainian and European municipalities. Currently, the Bridges of Trust (BoT) Community, encompasses over 50 actors from 23 countries, including national associations of local and regional governments, European municipal networks, and support structures. The four local and regional government associations of Ukraine are part of the BoT Community, too.

Launched at the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2025 in Rome, European Partnerships Hub (EPH) was established. It functions as a one-stop shop and support mechanism for international municipal cooperation by coordinating with the main actors, creating synergies, developing further and promoting the activities of actors within the BoT Community. Brussels based Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) took over the role as Secretariat for the EPH. The Secretariat developed the services of EPH as a support mechanism for municipal cooperation with Ukraine, acting in three pillars:

• Partnership building and development,
• Capacity building for municipal cooperation, EU integration and reconstruction,
• Synergetic and joint action of BoT Community actors.

Currently, NALAS is implementing a project “Pathways of Partnership: Strengthening Local Cooperation for Ukraine’s Recovery and EU Integration” to strengthen Ukrainian municipalities’ capacities in EU fundraising, governance, and reconstruction planning.

About NALAS

The Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe (NALAS) is a regional network that brings together 14 Local Government Associations (LGAs) across South-East Europe, four of which represent EU members (Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, and Croatia). The NALAS Secretariat, based in Skopje, North Macedonia, is responsible for coordinating and implementing the network’s activities.

Through its broad network of local government associations, municipal officials, and experts, NALAS has established a unique platform for generating and sharing valuable knowledge for local authorities across South-East Europe. By facilitating the exchange of experiences, good practices, and expertise, NALAS enables members to learn from one another and build on shared knowledge. These resources are systematically captured and made available through the NALAS Knowledge Center, with a strong focus on cross-border learning, comparative analysis, and peer-to-peer engagement.

A flagship service of its knowledge platform is the Shadowing Programme, which provides a structured approach to facilitating peer learning, knowledge exchange and capacity development within the NALAS network.

Further supporting professional development, NALAS operates the “NALAS e-Academy”, an online learning platform offering practical, immediately applicable knowledge in key local governance areas such as urban planning, social inclusion, water management, disaster risk management and others. The e-Academy contributes to developing a new generation of capable and skilled local government professionals in South-East Europe.

From matchmaking to partnerships

In coordination with its member Local Government Associations, NALAS identifies municipalities from EU member states and candidate countries of the Western Balkans that are interested in establishing cooperating with Ukrainian peers. A tailored questionnaire is used to collect general information about municipalities, their needs, areas of expertise, and development priorities, and match them with Ukrainian local governments.

The resulting municipal tandems jointly identify priority areas for cooperation, exchange knowledge and experience through the Shadowing Programme implemented at the host municipality premises and explore opportunities for developing joint projects.

Learning Through Exchange: NALAS Shadowing Programme

A key component of cooperation between local governments is the co-called Shadowing Programme, which is an established and recognized activity of NALAS that has been successfully implemented with Local Government Associations and municipalities, covering a range of thematic areas, and developing hands-on training and capacity development of local government professionals. It has also been applied in a post-disaster context to support reconstruction planning and recovery in Albania through the exchange of best practices from Slovenia and Turkey.

In the framework of the Pathways of Partnership project, the Shadowing Programme is designed as a four-day on-site exchange hosted by a partner municipality from the EU or the Western Balkans, which combines coaching, mentoring, and on-the-job learning for Ukrainian local government officials. It aims to strengthen the capacities of Ukrainian local governments and creates a foundation for a potential follow-up action and tangible results achieved through longer-term inter-municipal partnerships and decentralised cooperation.

This year, NALAS has supported 14 Shadowing Programme visits of Ukrainian municipalities to their partner municipalities in Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Croatia, Montenegro and Moldova. The exchanges combined working sessions, institutional visits, field visits and thematic discussions and covering municipal governance and EU accession-related institutional and structural changes, implementation of EU-funded projects, local economic development, citizens’ engagement, as well as cross-cutting issues of gender mainstreaming and social inclusion.

The visits produced tangible results, such as the signing of a Cooperation Agreement (Călinești, Romania – Mamalyha, Ukraine) or a Letter of Intent to sign Cooperation Agreement (Ciortești, Romania – Zarichchia, Ukraine), and reaching an agreement to develop joint project proposals for EU funding calls.

Here are some examples that illustrate the value and impact of these peer exchanges. On 20-24 April 2026, the Municipality of Gjirokastër from Albania hosted a delegation from the Volodymyrets Settlement Council from Ukraine, for a four-day study visit. The purpose of the visit was to strengthen institutional cooperation and enable the exchange of practical experience in cultural heritage preservation, tourism-led local economic development, municipal governance, project development and fundraising. The programme combined high-level meetings, thematic sessions, and extensive field visits.

Over the subsequent days, the delegation explored how Gjirokastër manages and promotes its UNESCO-listed architectural heritage and how these efforts translate into measurable contributions to local economic development. Beyond heritage and tourism, the delegation could learn about good practices of municipal governance, citizens’ engagement and cooperation between citizens and institutions.

The visit resulted in signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Gjirokastër and Volodymyrets, establishing connections not only between municipal leadership, but also with educational institutions (University of Gjirokastra). Potential follow-up activities include joint youth exchange projects, cultural heritage initiatives, international educational cooperation, and preparation of common applications for EU-funded programmes.

 

Visit of Volodymyrets/ Ukraine to Gjirokastër/ Albania

 

Another successful example of such a peer learning exercise was a shadowing visit of the Lypova Dolyna municipality, Sumy region, Ukraine, to Otelec Commune, Timiș County, Romania, on 21-24 April. The Ukrainian delegation observed how Otelec plans and delivers local development initiatives using European and national funds. They also had the opportunity to learn and see first-hand the results of implemented projects, including the development of a Zonal Urban Plan for Youth, modernization and equipping of education facilities, and a major road investment.

In Jimbolia town located in the same county (?), the delegation visited completed social and cultural infrastructure – an open-air summer theatre, a social canteen, and a fire station that also serves as a museum. They also learned about the Local Action Group’s (LAG) mechanisms to access EU funds and its role in rural development. A meeting with a local farmer showed how the agricultural sector is changing under the influence of EU policies and what opportunities integration into the global market can offer.

The cultural component featured the restoration of the Mocioni Manor, a historic estate, supported by EEA/Norway Grants, as well as a visit to the local museum and a traditional carpentry workshop. Participation in Otelec’s annual gastronomic festival showcased the local multicultural traditions (Romanian, Serbian and Hungarian) and demonstrated how cultural events can strengthen community cohesion and visibility. As pointed out by one of the participants of the programme, the key takeaway for her was that people are at the centre of all the changes, with all initiatives and actions focused on improving the quality of life.

 

Visit of Lypova Dolyna/ Ukraine to Otelec/ Romania

 

Coaching Clinics: From Project Ideas to Project Proposals

To strengthen the project management capacities of Ukrainian municipalities, NALAS has developed a three-stage capacity development approach:

1. Online preparatory workshops aimed at identifying relevant open calls, priority topics, and potential project leads.
2. Coaching Clinics – Training on EU Fundraising and Project Development, an intensive 4-day in-person training programme for participants guided by a team of NALAS experts.
3. Mentoring sessions on EU Fundraising, providing tailored follow-up support to participants for finalisation of their project proposals.

This year, the Coaching Clinics were organised on 27-30 April in Rzeszów, in Poland, for representatives of 13 Ukrainian municipalities and received very positive feedback from the participants. Through practical group exercises and trainer-led sessions, the participants developed initial drafts of project proposals for the CERV Programme (Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme), which they could later finalise with mentoring support from the NALAS experts.

What’s next?

Based on the established network of European-Ukrainian municipal partnerships, NALAS is planning to further strengthen these partnerships in the year to come. Future NALAS activities will target not only Ukrainian local governments but also their partners to ensure stronger commitment from and greater benefits for both parties. Given the considerable interest among Ukrainian municipalities in project development training, another round of the coaching clinic will be organized, along with shadowing visits tailored to the needs of partner tandems.

 

---

Olena Kalinina is an International Partnerships Advisor of U-LEAD with Europe who coordinates the “Pathways of Partnership” project on behalf of U-LEAD. She also has extensive experience of working as a translator in U-LEAD focusing on decentralisation, regional development and EU integration. Prior to working for GIZ she taught English at the Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University. Olena holds an MA in English Language Studies and a PhD in Education Management from Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University.

Miodrag Kolić is a NALAS Project Manager and Senior Capacity Development Expert with over 20 years of experience in South-East Europe, specialising in good governance, local community development, citizen participation, capacity development, and training delivery for local authorities. He joined NALAS in 2014 and has managed and contributed to regional projects focusing on water and sanitation, local governance, disaster risk management, and resilience. Currently, he coordinates the NALAS project “Pathways of Partnership”, implemented within the U-LEAD with Europe Programme. He holds an MBA, a BSc in Mechanical Engineering, and a Postgraduate Degree in Regional and Economic Development.

---

The Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe (NALAS) is a regional network that brings together 14 Local Government Associations (LGAs) from 12 countries, including four EU member states (Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, and Croatia). The NALAS Secretariat, based in Skopje, North Macedonia, is responsible for coordinating and implementing the network’s activities. Through its broad network of local government associations, municipal officials, and experts, NALAS has established a unique platform for generating and sharing valuable knowledge for local authorities across South-East Europe.