Local governance and development: €62 million third phase of U-LEAD with Europe programme unveiled in Ukraine
On 18 March, the U-LEAD with Europe initiative, a Team Europe effort backed by the EU and its Member States (Germany, Denmark, France, Poland, and Slovenia) in collaboration with the Government of Ukraine, officially launched Phase III of its implementation.
The latest phase will continue to focus on enhancing local self-government and fostering a resilient recovery at the local and regional levels, in line with Ukraine’s European integration goals.
The Phase III initiative is set to run until the end of 2027, with an initial budget of €62 million of which the EU contributed €40 million, Germany €18 million, and Denmark €4 million.
“Decentralisation leads to happier citizens, better services, lower corruption, and more developed regions with higher living standards. Now, in the face of Russia’s unprovoked aggression, Ukraine needs decentralisation more than ever. Strong and capable regions are the backbone of its resilience,” said Katarína Mathernová, Ambassador of the EU to Ukraine.
U-LEAD will continue building municipalities’ capacities within its network of 24 regional offices to navigate wartime challenges and build back better by offering training courses, expert advisory services, and capacity-building activities. Special attention will be paid to municipalities with a population of less than 50,000 people, addressing important issues such as energy security, food security and financial management to increase their resilience and leave no one behind.
The programme will also actively support local reconstruction and development by assisting municipalities in planning, coordinating, and implementing vital projects.
The ‘Ukraine – Local Empowerment, Accountability and Development Programme’ (U-LEAD with Europe) was launched in 2016. Since 2020, U-LEAD with Europe has provided direct support to local self-government bodies across Ukraine. More than 1,439 municipalities have participated in over 30,000 capacity-building events, while 15 legislative acts strengthening local governance have been developed with the programme’s support. Since the full-scale invasion in 2022, U-LEAD has delivered emergency support packages to 333 municipalities, including more than 2,400 generators, and has supplied 100 war-affected municipalities with over 160 vans and 100 toolkits.
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