Vinnytsia, a city in west-central Ukraine, has opened a representative office in Brussels. The office is located in the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and will serve as a platform for Vinnytsia to strengthen its ties with the EU.
Andriy Ocheretny, deputy mayor of Vinnytsia, said that the opening of the office is a “significant step” for the city. “Decentralisation has to continue despite any external challenges,” he said. “Active international diplomacy of the Ukrainian cities and regions is a very important aspect of this process.”
The CoR is an EU institution that represents the interests of cities and regions across the bloc. The CoR’s offer of office space to Vinnytsia is part of its wider support package for Ukraine, which aims to help the country recover from the war with Russia.
Patrick Molinoz, chair of the CoR’s Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs (CIVEX), said that Ukraine’s cities and regions will be “key” in the country’s accession to the EU. “They will be the ones implementing EU policies and legislation on the ground,” he said. “They will be the ones interacting with citizens.”
The opening of the Vinnytsia office is a sign of the growing ties between Ukraine and the EU. The EU has provided billions of euros in financial and military assistance to Ukraine since the start of the war. The EU is also working to help Ukraine integrate into the EU’s single market.
About Vinnytsia
Vinnytsia is a major transport hub with strong food processing, machinery, and textiles sectors. The city is also a leader in Ukraine’s energy transition. Vinnytsia has a population of around 370,000 people.
Additional Information
- The City of Lviv, the region of Dnipropetrovsk, and the All-Ukrainian Association of Communities already have representative offices in the CoR.
- The CoR’s Young Elected Politicians programme is a network of elected politicians aged below 40. Svitlana Yarova, a member of Vinnytsia City Council, is a member of the programme.
Source: Committé of the Regions
