Viktor Kovalenko, the first deputy head of the Kharkiv Oblast Council, met with the Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine in the House of Councils.

During the meeting, the parties identified further directions of cooperation between the Kharkiv Oblast and the European Union. The state of socio-economic development of the region, decentralisation reform process and amalgamation of hromadas were also discussed.

In particular, Mr Mingarelli spoke about new EU support projects in Ukraine. It is known that over 2015-2017 more than 20 projects, funded by the European Union (within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Instrument, U-LEAD with Europe, EUAM, Erasmus +, HORIZON 2020, the Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development (DEVCO), were implemented in the Kharkiv region.

The Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine also emphasised the importance of implementing all measures under the decentralisation reform at both the state and regional levels. According to him, it is extremely significant for both local and central authorities to support the process of formation and development of amalgamated hromadas, since properly conducted decentralisation leads to the improvement of the quality of social and public services provided to citizens.