The European Commission will provide €40 million to continue funding the U-LEAD with Europe Programme, which works to strengthen the capacity of Ukrainian municipalities. The Memorandum of Understanding to continue funding for this amount in the upcoming Phase III (starting in 2025) was signed by the European Commission and GIZ, the German government's development agency, at the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2024, attended by the Ukrainian government.
According to the U-LEAD Programme, this agreement 'marks the European Union's continued and targeted support to Ukraine to strengthen its administrative capacity at national, regional and local level to implement strategies, plans and investment measures aimed at post-war reconstruction and to successfully meet the requirements for EU accession'.
"With this declaration of intent, the European Union underscores its long-term commitment to accountable and empowered municipalities. It reaffirms the important role U-LEAD with Europe plays in promoting a recovery that is locally grounded and designed from a bottom-up perspective. We are honored that the EU trusts us for the future," commented Bastian Veigel, Programme Director of U-LEAD with Europe.
U-LEAD (Ukraine – Local Empowerment, Accountability and Development) is a programme of cooperation between the Government of Ukraine, the European Union and its Member States Germany, Poland, Denmark and Slovenia to build a multi-level governance system that is transparent, accountable and responsive to the needs of Ukrainian citizens. U-LEAD aims to improve the quality of life for all Ukrainian citizens by strengthening the capacity of key actors and stakeholders at national, regional and local levels to strengthen local governance in communities, especially in times of war and recovery.
The programme has been active in Ukraine since 2016. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, the programme's activities have been significantly expanded – both through its own support to municipalities to restore their livelihoods, strengthen protection and assist IDPs, and through the establishment of direct contacts between Ukrainian and European municipalities. Some of the results of U-LEAD's activities were presented by Ukrainian municipalities at the Ukraine Recovery Conference.