A regional conference titled “European Integration: The Power of Opportunities” was held in Khmelnytskyi
On February 12, the “Civic Synergy” project, in collaboration with the Ukrainian side of the Ukraine-EU Civil Society Platform and the Ukrainian National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, joined the information campaign “European Integration: A World of Opportunities,” implemented by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine. Over 350 participants attended the regional conference in Khmelnytskyi, including representatives of all stakeholders—central and local government bodies, the business community, civil society organizations, and experts. The conference served as an effective platform for discussing the prospects and opportunities that European integration has opened up for the Khmelnytskyi region, as well as the steps needed to make effective use of them. In particular, local businesspeople who are already operating in the European market shared their success stories with the attendees.
In her opening remarks, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, emphasized that safeguarding Ukraine’s European and Euro-Atlantic integration is the responsibility of both the government and every citizen. According to her, European integration should establish transparent, understandable, and clear rules, as well as facilitate the massive transformation of the system that Ukraine still needs to carry out. These steps will help attract foreign investment to Ukraine. Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze also highlighted the benefits that the Khmelnytskyi region has already reaped.
“I am extremely pleased that, in terms of export growth to European Union countries, Khmelnytskyi Oblast has shown twice as good a result over the past year as Ukraine as a whole. While the figure for Ukraine as a whole is approximately 15–16%… Khmelnytskyi Oblast has achieved over 36.5%,” noted the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine.
In turn, Vadym Lozovyi, head of the Khmelnytskyi Regional State Administration, emphasized that today there are over 250 enterprises with foreign investment in the region, more than $200 million has been attracted to the economy, and the region is open to any investor.
“The most important thing that businesses need from the government today is openness, transparency, and support. We must ensure that businesses want to come to us,” he noted.
Olena Pavlenko, chair of the Ukrainian side of the Ukraine-EU Civil Society Platform, spoke to conference participants about the Platform’s importance for the European integration process and its cooperation with Ukrainian authorities and European partners.
“There should be more representation from Khmelnytskyi Oblast in the Platform, and the Platform should have a stronger presence in Khmelnytskyi Oblast—and this will certainly help Ukraine’s European integration,” she noted.
According to Olena Pavlenko, the Platform is very interested in receiving feedback from the public at the local level regarding the effectiveness of the implementation of the Association Agreement. She also emphasized the Platform’s openness to sharing information that its members receive from central government agencies and international partners.
Iryna Sushko, executive director of the NGO “Europe Without Barriers” and a representative of the Ukrainian National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, spoke to conference participants about the benefits of the visa-free regime for the country’s citizens. She emphasized that visa-free travel offers opportunities for mobility, which strengthens people-to-people contacts and helps broaden Ukrainians’ worldview. Iryna Sushko specifically highlighted the importance of the reforms initiated as part of visa liberalization—document security, border management, the establishment of anti-corruption bodies, the fight against organized crime, and the prevention of discrimination.
“Therefore, even those who, for whatever reason, do not plan to take advantage of the visa-free regime in the near future may find themselves facing this enormous wave of modernization changes, which were initiated as part of visa liberalization and are continuing today under the Association Agreement with the European Union,” said Iryna Sushko.
The conference also featured a roundtable discussion titled “How to Accelerate the European Integration of the Khmelnytskyi Region: Challenges and Needs of the Region,” during which representatives of the “Civic Synergy” project, the Ukrainian side of the Ukraine-EU Civil Society Platform, and the Ukrainian National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum met with non-governmental organizations from Khmelnytskyi Oblast to discuss their vision for the European integration processes in the region.
Zoryana Mishchuk, team leader of the “Civic Synergy” project, spoke about the benefits of joining the Platforms, as well as the support the project provides to enable them to carry out effective analytical and advocacy work. She also emphasized the importance of involving regional nongovernmental organizations in the Platforms’ work.
“While in the early stages of European integration the government’s efforts focused on drafting and adopting legislation, the success of European integration going forward will depend more on the implementation of laws that have already been adopted; consequently, the lion’s share of the effort will fall on the regional and local levels. It is important that as many interested and capable people as possible here are aware of what needs to be done and what is possible,” noted Zoryana Mishchuk.
During the roundtable, participants discussed the challenges facing the Khmelnytskyi region, including a lack of awareness among local businesses regarding opportunities to enter European Union markets, the renovation of the airport, and the challenges of decentralization.
The regional conference was held with the support of the “Civic Synergy” project, which is funded by the European Union and implemented by the International Renaissance Foundation.