Peace, further decentralisation reforms and the fight against corruption will be factors critical to the success of Ukraine's reconstruction, members of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) said on 28 November in a meeting with representatives from the national, regional and local levels in Ukraine.
In discussions in Prešov in eastern Slovakia, members of the CoR's Working Group on Ukraine emphasised that the extraordinary powers conferred by martial law must not undermine long-term progress on decentralisation and public-administration reform, and highlighted the value of the transparent and inclusive involvement of local and regional authorities in reforms linked to EU accession. Referring to current efforts to establish peace in Ukraine, members said that any agreement must guarantee Ukraine's sovereignty and integrity as well as assuring its European aspirations.
The meeting of the Working Group on Ukraine, which also updated the CoR's 10-point support plan for Ukraine, was preceded on 27 November by a seminar with members of the CoR's Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs (CIVEX) focused on cross-border cooperation with Ukrainian cities and regions. The seminar looked in particular at initiatives in the Carpathian region, a region that includes parts of Ukraine, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and Romania.
The host of the meetings and organiser of the seminar – Milan Majerský (SK/EPP), President of the Prešov Self-Governing Region – emphasised the need for an EU 'Carpathian strategy', more investment in road infrastructure in the region, and new, more flexible frameworks for cross-border cooperation.
Members of the CoR were able to enter Ukraine, visiting Uzhhorod to discuss with the city's mayor and to see first-hand examples of cross-border cooperation, including for the rehabilitation of war veterans.
More information:
- Details of meetings: Documents and video from external seminar of the CoR's Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs (CIVEX) on "Ukraine's path to EU integration and recovery: the role of regional cross-border cooperation", 27 November; documents and video of the 10th Working Group on Ukraine, head on 28 November; photos of both events. On 26 November, Prešov also hosted a meeting of the CoR's informal Carpathian Intergroup, to which Ukrainian local and regional leaders were invited.
- Ukrainian attendees: Among the Ukrainians present in Prešov were the leaders of four Carpathian regions – Zakarpattia, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Chernivtsi – as well as the mayor of Mykolaiv, the head of Kharkiv Regional Council, a representative from the Odesa region, and representatives of associations representing Ukraine’s sub-national administrations: Association of Ukrainian Cities, Ukrainian Association of District and Regional Councils (UAROR), the Association of Amalgamated Territorial Communities, All-Ukrainian Association of Communities. Oleksii Riabykin, Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine, and the mayor of Kharkiv, representing the Association of Frontline Cities and Communities, contributed online.
- Working Group on Ukraine: The core mission of the CoR Working Group on Ukraine is to maintain a continuous dialogue between European and Ukrainian local and regional representatives and to deepen understanding of the situation on the ground in order to be able to provide the best possible support. Both Ukraine and the European Committee of the Regions have requested that the contacts be further upgraded, by establishing a Joint Consultative Committee with fixed membership on the Ukrainian side; a formal decision to this effect is expected soon.
- Support package for Ukraine: Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the CoR adopted a 10-point support package to support Ukraine's resilience and to facilitate the country's integration into the EU. The updated plan will be available on the CoR's website.
- Enlargement: In June 2022, Ukraine became a candidate for EU membership and formal negotiations began in June 2024. In September 2025, Ukraine completed the screening process to identify the current alignment of policies. On 4 November, the European Commission issued its annual report on progress on EU-related reforms by enlargement countries, noting progress in Ukraine's governance, regional development, and EU alignment but pointing to the need to make improvements in the protection of the rule of law, anti-corruption measures, and lack of local administrative capacity. In a review of Ukraine's EU-related reforms adopted in April 2025, CoR members praised Ukraine's alignment with the EU’s foreign and security policy, "significant progress" in reforms, and acknowledged "progress in local governance, reconstruction and decentralisation" while emphasising "the need for continued efforts to increase the administrative capacity and fiscal autonomy of local government units".
- Ukraine Recovery Conference: Webpage. The CoR's Working Group on Ukraine discussed the CoR's potential contribution to the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC), the international community's largest annual event dedicated to cooperation to help Ukraine's reconstruction. At the URC, the CoR represents the European Alliance of Cities and Regions for the Reconstruction of Ukraine, which it co-founded in 2022. In 2026, the URC will be held in Poland.
- Training programme for local officials: In March 2025, the CoR launched the Training and Internship Programme Support for Ukrainian Municipalities (TIPS4Ukraine). U-LEAD – a partnership between the Ukrainian government, the European Union, Germany, Denmark, France, Poland and Slovenia – is responsible for day-to-day implementation of the programme, which is part-financed by the EU's Ukraine Facility.
- Study on EU support for Ukrainian sub-national authorities: "Capacity building for local and regional authorities in the light of the Ukraine Facility (Pillar III)", commissioned by the CoR and published in 2025 (summary also available).