Cross-Border Cooperation Between Local and Regional Authorities of Ukraine and the Visegrad Group States

This article researches cross-border cooperation (CBC) between local and regional authorities (LRAs) of Ukraine and the Visegrad Group states (V4). An analysis of the legislation of Ukraine and the V4 regarding CBC of LRAs was carried out that determines that a considerable number of regulatory acts have been developed regarding the implementation of CBC by LRAs in Ukraine and the V4. Unlike Ukraine, the V4 do not consider the legal instruments developed by the Council of Europe to develop CBC.

Rather, they develop CBC within the framework of EU legal instruments. Despite the different regulations of CBC in Ukraine and the V4, there are still existing problems in regulating this cooperation in Ukraine and the V4, which need to improve the national legislation. Furthermore, former and current forms of CBC of LRAs of Ukraine and the V4 are analyzed, and it is determined that the most effective form of CBC of LRAs of the V4 is a European grouping of territorial cooperation (EGTC).

It has been investigated an ineffectiveness regarding the implementation of CBC projects, the insufficient level of quality of project management and low ability to attract external financial resources for the implementation of joint projects by LRAs of Poland, Hungary and Slovakia with LRAs of Ukraine on the Polish-Ukrainian border, Slovak-Ukrainian border and Hungarian-Ukrainian border. Conclusions and recommendations are also developed for the development of effective CBC between LRAs of Ukraine and the V4.

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*Yuliia Fetko is a visiting Think Visegrad scholar and this policy paper was produced within the Think Visegrad Non-V4 Fellowship programme