Head of the Luhansk Regional Administrative Organization Oleksiy Kharchenko joined the Expert Conference on Experience Exchange "Chapter 22 of the EU: Shaping Ukraine's Future Cohesion Policy" online at the meeting of the Interdepartmental Coordination Commission on Regional Development.

As noted, Chapter 22 “Regional Policy and Coordination of Structural Instruments” is much more than one of the negotiating chapters with the EU. It is a vision of the future of Ukraine for decades to come: a country of strong communities, strong regions, and a strong Europe, of which Ukraine is becoming a part today.

"Cohesion policy is not abstract documents or procedures, it is, first of all, a high quality of life for people, housing, schools, hospitals, accessibility, new jobs and investments. And for the people of Luhansk, it is also the preservation of their own local identity," Oleksiy Kharchenko commented on the event.

Ukraine is currently going through a unique path: while simultaneously protecting the state, restoring destroyed infrastructure, carrying out reforms and modernizing the governance system.

Therefore, in the context of recovery, the Conference participants also discussed a new model of development for the country - the State Strategy for Regional Development for 2028-2034.

This is of particular importance for frontline territories: these are 243 communities and almost seven million people living next to the war.

Over the past year, more than 70 government decisions have been adopted to support such territories, more than 40 support instruments have been introduced, and more than 80 billion UAH have been allocated to meet the needs of communities and people.

Therefore, together with international partners, the Government is working on preparing a new master plan that will combine recovery, regional development, and European integration into a single long-term strategy to support frontline and recovery areas, and will be based on the principles of European cohesion policy.