On December 19, 2018 at the premises of the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service (NAUCS) the Annual Regional Conference on Institution Building (hereinafter – the Conference) took place. The event was organized under support of the Representative Office of the Hanns Seidel Foundation in Ukraine with the aim to share best practices on implementation of international assistance projects in the area of public administration and civil service reform, decentralization of power as well as to provide experience exchange on realization and ensuring effective project management, including within the framework of the EU Institutional Building Instruments Twinning and TAIEX.
In the introductory speech Head of the NAUCS Kostiantyn Vashchenko expressed gratitude to the representatives of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine, RTAs of the Twinning projects in Ukraine, experts of international organizations and projects for the interest in the event and the desire to present the best practices of effective cooperation between government authorities, local self-government authorities and international projects and programmes. In addition, he noted that the NAUCS, in the framework of the implementation of tasks and events of the reform on public administration and civil service, as well as the decentralization of power, ensured the establishment of a mutually beneficial partnership with many international projects and programmes.
At the same time Head of the NAUCS pointed out that Ukraine is an unchanged leader among the countries of the European Neighborhood Instrument, in the number of completed Twinning projects and TAIEX activities and wished the participants fruitful work, which would provide the strengthening of cooperation between government authorities, local self-government authorities and international organizations and projects within the framework of implementation of systemic reforms.
In turn, during the introductory speech, Director of the Representative Office of the Hanns Seidel Foundation in Kyiv (Ukraine), the Head of the Hanns Seidel Foundation in Ukraine, Republic of Moldova and Romania Daniel Seiberling noted that Ukraine should continue to implement the reform on public administration, since an effective system of public administration is a decisive factor both for the further successful and sustained domestic political development of Ukraine and for the further European integration.
Expert on Strategic Issues, Government Office for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Oleksii Huzko stressed that the presentation of the European Commission's report on attracting international assistance once again emphasizes the importance of the measures taken in the framework of the European integration of Ukraine.
Deputy Minister for Youth and Sports of Ukraine on European Integration Mykola Movchan stressed that the Ministry involve experts from EU Member States, facilitating cooperation and contacts with European partners, as well as helping to formulate and implement specific goals and objectives.
During Plenary Session І “International Assistance in the Context of Effective Implementation of Public Administration and Civil Service Reform, Decentralization of Power” First Deputy Head of the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service Volodymyr Kuprii presented the main achievements of NAUCS in the framework of international cooperation in 2018.
In addition, representatives of international projects and programmes, in particular Council of Europe Programme “Decentralisation and Local Government Reform in Ukraine”, Swiss-Ukrainian Project “Development of Citizenship Competences in Ukraine – DOCCU”, European Union Advisory Mission (EUAM) in Ukraine, UN Women in Ukraine, Swiss-Ukrainian Decentralization Support Project (DESPRO), U-LEAD with Europe Programme, “USAID DOBRE” Programme emphasized the importance of human professional development by attracting international experts and specialists, as well as implementing reforms in the framework of the implementation of the Association Agreement.
During Plenary Session ІI “Best Practices of Twinning Implementation as the EU Institutional Building Instrument under Conditions of the European Integration Policy” and Plenary Session ІІI “Best Practices of Involvement of External Assistance of the European Commission within the Framework of TAIEX under Conditions of the European Integration Policy” First Deputy Director of the Center for Adaptation of the Civil Service to the Standards of the European Union Yuliia Lykhach informed the participants about the growing interest of the government authorities in using the Institutional Building Instruments Twinning and TAIEX.
Representatives of the Center for Adaptation of the Civil Service to the Standards of the European Union presented the main results of involving of the Institutional Building Instruments Twinning and TAIEX, as well as the main innovations of the Procedure for the Initiation, Preparation and Implementation of Twinning projects, approved by the Resolution Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine as of August 22, 2018 No 663. In addition, the updated methodological recommendations on the use of the Twinning Institutional Building Instrument in Ukraine were presented in accordance with the updated Twinning Manual and the abovementionad Resolution.
In the framework of panel discussions, the participants discussed key aspects of international cooperation, reviewed international assistance projects that were implemented with the aim of effective implementation of reforms in the field of public administration, civil service and decentralization of power, and also discussed the complex achievements and best practices of implementation and use of the Institutional Building Instruments Twinning and TAIEX in the framework of the European integration policy.
Representatives of government authorities and local self-government authorities, Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine, international organizations and projects, RTAs of acting projects in Ukraine, Twinning Project Leaders took part in the Conference.
For the reference: Annual Regional Conferences on Institution Building were initiated in 2007 by the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service / Twinning Programme Administration Office in Ukraine and have become a traditional form for professional discussion of key aspects of institutional reforms.
