Denmark will train Ukrainian officials to use EU funds: Mykolayiv Oblast will become a pilot region

Denmark will prepare Mykolaiv officials for Ukraine's accession to the EU — local authorities will be taught how to receive and properly use Union funds.

The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, told about this at a briefing in Mykolaiv, NikVesti writes.

The Minister appealed to his colleague from Denmark, Lars Lekke Rasmussen, with a request to start training in Ukraine, which will allow the authorities to master the possibilities of support programs for the regions of the European Union. Mykolayiv Oblast will become a pilot region in this project.

«What does it mean? Mykolaiv officials, village, city, regional authorities will learn how to work with EU money, how to fill out applications for financing local projects, construction of infrastructure, roads, pipelines, building repairs, etc. How to get this money correctly, use it, report it and get even more,» Dmytro Kuleba told.

According to him, when the Baltic countries joined the European Union, a special training center functioned on the territory of Denmark, where Baltic officials were trained to use the opportunities provided by the European Union.

«And today I asked my colleague to introduce such a program for Ukraine and to make Mykolaiv Oblast a pilot region so that Mykolaiv would prepare for the arrival of not only Danish money, but also EU money. Thanks to cooperation with Denmark, Mykolaiv Oblast is at the forefront. We want to have a nationwide program, similar to the one I just described, but we are doing everything to make Mykolayiv Oblast a successful pilot project,» Dmytro Kuleba emphasized.

The beginning of Denmark's cooperation with Mykolaiv

In March 2022, the president of Ukraine, speaking in front of the Danish parliament, called on the country to take «leadership» over Mykolaiv after the end of the full-scale war unleashed by Russia.

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At the end of August last year, the mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Sienkevych, and the Minister of International Development of Denmark, Flemming Moller Mortensen, signed a memorandum of cooperation. The memorandum envisages joint work on the formation of reconstruction projects and the involvement of investors from various countries in the restoration of Mykolaiv.

In January 2023, a meeting of representatives of Denmark and Ukraine took place in Mykolaiv regarding the planning of further restoration of the city.

On July 3, the Minister of the Kingdom of Denmark announced a new aid package for the Mykolaiv region.

In September, after a meeting with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the opening of the office of the Danish Embassy in Ukraine in Mykolaiv.

At the beginning of November, Denmark announced a new large-scale aid package for Ukraine for 40.2 million euros. The main emphasis in the aid package is on Mykolaiv and the Mykolaiv region.

Also, in November, the Office of Reconstruction and Development of the Mykolaiv Oblast and the Office of Reconstruction and Development of the City of Mykolaiv became operational.

And recently, on January 26, the office of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Denmark in Ukraine was opened in Mykolaiv. On this occasion, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the country, Lars Lekke Rasmussen, arrived in the city.

In general, since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Denmark has invested more than 180 million dollars in infrastructure projects in Mykolaiv Oblast.