Policy-Academic Dialogue “Ukraine’s Thorny Path to the EU: Sectoral Insights and Future Prospects” (20.03.2024, online/offline)
On 20 March 2024, the National Erasmus+ Office – Ukraine team participated in the Policy Dialogue Forum titled “Ukraine’s Thorny Path to the EU: Sectoral Insights and Future Prospects”, in a collaborative effort between the University of Agder and the Ukrainian Catholic University. This forum served as a platform for comprehensive discussions on various facets of Ukraine’s journey towards European integration. The forum comprised four distinct panels, each addressing crucial aspects of Ukraine’s relationship with the European Union.
The event attracted a diverse audience including about 50 representatives from legislative and executive authorities, legal professionals, education experts, researchers, and students. Through in-depth panel discussions, participants explored various dimensions of Ukraine’s European integration journey, encompassing trade, intellectual property rights, education, and the challenges of displaced persons and their reintegration.
The first forum panel addressed the issue of EU-Ukraine association relations. The speakers reviewed the challenges to Ukraine’s accession to the EU facing both sides, the readiness of the state and its entities for accession, and the participation of Ukrainian cities and regions in European integration programs.
The second panel raised the topic of understanding EU-Ukraine economic relations in wartime and beyond. The panellists discussed the current state of the relations and the legal regulation, which concerns not only import duties, but also the environment, intellectual property, etc.
The third session was dedicated to the (re)integration of Ukrainian migrants into the EU. The speakers talked about the challenges of employing Ukrainians in the EU, self-organisation of the citizens and the prospects for dual citizenship.
The fourth-panel discussion was devoted to higher education in Ukraine. In particular, the speakers discussed the resilience of the Ukrainian education system in the context of the war unleashed by Russia, Ukraine’s integration into the European Education Area, the EU’s reactions and support, and the post-war recovery and reform of the Ukrainian higher education system.
During the fourth panel discussion, Svitlana SHYTIKOVA, coordinator of the National Erasmus+ office – Ukraine, led a discussion on the challenges, opportunities for cooperation, and specifics of calls and projects within the EU Erasmus+ Programme for Ukrainian higher education institutions. There was also a discussion on the peculiarities of project implementation during martial law in Ukraine. The speaker emphasised the main priorities during project implementation, focusing on overcoming the challenges and consequences of the war, the modernity and innovativeness of content, methodologies, resources, and results, as well as inclusivity and the use of digital and green technologies.
Prepared with the use of materials from the Ukrainian Catholic University.