Ukrainian civil servants come to Estonia for EU study trip

The study visit is part of a cooperation project between the Estonian Centre for International Development (ESTDEV), the University of Tartu, the Secretariat of Ministers of Ukraine and the European Commission’s TAIEX* programme. The project aims to support Ukraine’s integration with the EU through a training programme for civil servants.

Ukraine is currently involved in complex negotiations for EU accession. Eva-Maria Liimets, ESDTEV’s programme manager for Democracy and Rule of Law, said that joining the EU requires adopting legislation and making other reforms, processes that Estonia has already undergone. “Sharing Estonia’s achievements and lessons learned provides Ukraine with practical, reliable support,” said Liimets.

This week's study visit, among other things, covered the competencies of EU institutions and member states, their distribution and mutual relations, the role of the institutions within the decision-making process, the opportunities available to candidate countries during accession negotiations, and what is expected of a candidate country throughout the integration process. According to Liimets, the training programme included Estonia's unique negotiation experiences and member states' views of the negotiation process.

“Last year, over 90 senior officials participated; this year, over 70 officials participated. We hope that the officials who completed the five-day training will take home additional knowledge on how to contribute to EU negotiations in their own fields and help Ukraine implement the necessary reforms,” said Liimets.

Liimets said the second-year EU integration study programmes have been a good opportunity to build new networks between Estonian and Ukrainian institutions. For example, one of the first study visits resulted in a long-term cooperation project to promote the rehabilitation of Ukrainians affected by the war of Russian aggression.

In addition, Ukrainian civil servants participating in the project's training programme learned new approaches to fighting corruption and money laundering and strengthening freedom of the press. Officials also discussed agriculture and fisheries reform.

ESTDEV prioritises sharing Estonia’s EU accession experience with Ukraine, and several joint projects are already underway: 

• Estonia, led by the Unemployment Insurance Fund, has supported improvements in the Ukrainian labour market. 
• Ukrainian security agencies have undergone training programmes and study visits to Estonia to learn from the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board, the Supreme Court and the Academy of Security Sciences.
• Estonia supports the provision of public services in the Zhytomyr Region.

*TAIEX (Technical Assistance and Information Exchange) is an instrument of the European Commission that supports public-sector institutions in harmonising, applying, and enforcing EU legislation and mediates the sharing of best practices in EU Member States.