Representatives of Ukrainian state institutions were in a visit to the Ministry of European Integration from 6 to 8 November. Over the course of their three-day study visit, Ukrainian colleagues had the opportunity to get acquainted with the experiences of the Republic of Serbia in the process of EU accession, coordination of institutions involved in this process, preparation of the Serbian version of the EU acquis, as well as with Serbia's participation in IPA and cross-border cooperation programmes.
Civil servants from Ukraine visited Vršac, where they met with the Mayor of this city. They visited the Green Market project and the Information Office of the Joint Secretariat under the INTERREG IPA Cross-Border Cooperation Programme Romania−Serbia through which Vršac got a modern green market named AGRIKO that covers 2400 square meters and has approximately 160 sales outlets.
The study visit was organised within the framework of the German−Ukrainian technical cooperation, namely a project implemented by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), through the Institute for European Politics from Berlin, with which the Ministry of European Integration has a long-term cooperation.
Anne Bercio, the leader of this project and the Ukrainian delegation visiting Belgrade, underlined that she was satisfied with the joint cooperation that had been ongoing for many years, adding that the exchange of knowledge and skills was extremely significant.
“Serbia is the most relevant example for the Ukrainian administration, in terms of its expertise in the European integration process, given that the country is currently establishing a system of coordination for the process of European integration. It was very useful to hear a practical approach, at the expert level,” concluded Anne Bercio.
Cooperation with Ukraine is also being realised through the participation of our civil servants as expert lecturers in Kiev, within the programme of conveying experiences regarding the process of European integration.
This cooperation is important, both for Ukraine to strengthen its capacities to implement the provisions of the EU−Ukraine Association Agreement, and for Serbia in regard to Chapter 30 and its obligation to become a donor country when it becomes a member of the EU.
