A round table under this title was held in Ivano-Frankivsk, organized by specialists from the Ukrainian Institute of International Policy and the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional State Administration on September 29, 2016.

The round table was attended by representatives of local government bodies, local self-government and public experts of the Ivano-Frankivsk region, including representatives of the NGO "Agency for the Development of Private Initiative".

The round table initiative is taking place as part of an information campaign supported by the German Foreign Ministry and the Hans Seidel Foundation, which provides information about opportunities for the Danube region and the Ukrainian Network of the Danube Civil Society Forum, created with the support of the EU, which includes professional public and scientific associations of four regions of Ukraine - Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi and Odessa regions.

As representatives of the Ukrainian Institute of International Policy note, analysts and experts from these regions have developed a draft strategic document – ​​the Comprehensive Vision of Ukraine’s Participation in the Implementation of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, which was presented at the Ministry of Regional Development of Ukraine in 2015. As the speakers noted, the EU Strategy for the Danube Region has been successfully implemented by many European countries since 2011. However, Ukraine’s activity in this implementation is still quite low.

During the meeting, the participants were informed about the main priorities of the Danube Strategy and about the mechanisms of cooperation with the regional initiative European Strategy for the Danube Region (ESDR). Among these priorities that may be of interest to the Ivano-Frankivsk region are the connection between countries, including transport accessibility, support for sustainable energy, development of culture and tourism, environmental protection, measures that promote well-being, including development of knowledge and education, support for the competitiveness of enterprises, investments in education and retraining, as well as measures to strengthen the potential of the region, including institutional capacity and security and the fight against organized crime. It was emphasized that the ESDR as a regional initiative of the EU, in which Ukraine can fully participate, without being an EU member, using available institutional and financial opportunities. In particular, the participation of the ESDR will provide an opportunity to attract new experience in managing territories, synchronize national, regional and local priorities.

Representatives of the regional administration informed about those projects that have been prepared since 2011 and sent for consideration by the ESDR, as well as about new projects of the region that meet the priorities of the Strategy. Among these projects is the project of the NGO "Agency for the Development of Private Initiatives" "Local Development. Prerequisites for the construction of a state border checkpoint and the construction of a road in the village of Iltsi (Verkhovyna district) - state border with Romania”, and a number of environmental projects, including biodiversity conservation in the Verkhovyna nature park, overcoming the consequences of the ecological disaster in the Kalusa district, projects for monitoring soil and air pollution, etc. The list and brief description of the projects were transferred to representatives of the Ukrainian Institute for the preparation of part of the analytical report on the readiness and capabilities of the Ivano-Frankivsk region to cooperate within the framework of the ESDR.

Special attention was paid to the review of the Ivano-Frankivsk instrument for supporting territorial communities, which is the regional competition of projects of local self-government bodies. The speakers of the round table emphasized that in the context of the decentralization reform, it is necessary to act more proactively - first of all, to create opportunities for the participation of united territorial communities in projects and programs of the Danube Strategy. It was noted that, unfortunately, Ukraine has not yet created the conditions at the government level for organizations and institutions to use the tools of the Danube Strategy.

A new visit of the Ukrainian Institute of International Policy team to Ivano-Frankivsk is planned soon to present the investment opportunities of the ESDR and familiarize yourself with the opportunities for investors created in our region.