A Comprehensive Vision of Ukraine's Participation in the Implementation of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region A Comprehensive Vision of Ukraine's Participation in the Implementation of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region A COMPREHENSIVE VISION OF UKRAINE'S PARTICIPATION IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EU STRATEGY FOR THE DANUBE REGION Edited by Igor Studennikov Odessa 2015 1 A Comprehensive Vision of Ukraine's Participation in the Implementation of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region A Comprehensive Vision of Ukraine's Participation in the Implementation of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region A Comprehensive Vision of Ukraine's Participation in the Implementation of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region Authors: Iulian ANDRIESH, Victor BONDARUK, Zynoviy BROYDE, Sergiy CHAPLYGIN, Oleg DIAKOV, Artem FILIPENKO, Irina GALINA, Dmytro IVANENKO, Mykhailo KAPSHTYK, Andriy KONIASHYN, Maria KOVALIV, Yaroslav KYRPUSHKO, Oleg LUKSHA, Yuriy MELNIK, Leonid PLOTNYTSKYI, Oleg RUBEL, Igor STUDENNIKOV, Eugen SOKOLOV, Tatiana TARASENKO, Gabriela TOVT, Svitlana VINOKUROVA, Natalia ZAKORCHEVNA, Mykhailo ZHMUD Edited by: Igor STUDENNIKOV Assistants: Irina KHYZHNIAK, Leonid PLOTNYTSKYI Copyright Statement This publication is an output from the project «Strengthening Civil Society Involvement in Assisting the Government with the Implementation of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region» with the financial support from the European Commission through the Neighbourhood Civil Society Facility 2011. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the European Commission. The copyright of this material is held by the Centre for Regional Studies. The material can be freely reproduced for non-commercial purposes but the project “Strengthening Civil Society Involvement in Assisting the Government with the Implementation of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region” and its funding by the European Commission through Neighbourhood Civil Society Facility 2011 must be acknowledged. Reproduction of this material with commercial purposes is prohibited. Any organisation wishing to reproduce the material should contact the Centre for Regional Studies at [email protected] © Centre for Regional Studies, Odessa, 2015 2 A Comprehensive Vision of Ukraine's Participation in the Implementation of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region A Comprehensive Vision of Ukraine's Participation in the Implementation of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region CONTENTS Introduction ................................................................................................................. 4 SWOT-analysis of the Ukrainian part of the Danube region ....................................... 8 Spatial planning as a tool for the development of the Ukrainian part of the Danube Region: problems, approaches and opportunities ...................................................... 22 Challenges and opportunities for inland navigation and port infrastructure development in the context of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region .................... 30 Renewable energy deployment in the Ukrainian part of the Danube Region ............. 40 Preserving historical and cultural heritage and promoting tourism in the Ukrainian part of the Danube Region ......................................................................................... 48 Sustainable use and integrated management of natural resources ........................... 57 Adaptation to the effects of climate change and natural risk management in the Ukrainian part of the Danube Region ......................................................................... 64 Increasing the competitiveness of the Ukrainian part of the Danube Region: organic farming ....................................................................................................................... 67 Scheme proposed for coordination of Ukraine’s participation in the implementation of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region ................................................................. 81 3 A Comprehensive Vision of Ukraine's Participation in the Implementation of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region A Comprehensive Vision of Ukraine's Participation in the Implementation of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region INTRODUCTION The EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) is a macro-regional strategy adopted by the European Commission in December 2010 and endorsed by the European Council in 2011. The Strategy was jointly developed by the Commission, together with the Danube Region countries and stakeholders, in order to address common challenges together. The Strategy seeks to create synergies and coordination between existing policies and initiatives taking place across the Danube Region. The EUSDR consist of two key documents – the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions and the Action Plan. The Danube Strategy includes 4 pillars and 11 priority areas of the Danube Region’s development. PILLAR PRIORITY AREA 1. To improve mobility and multimodality 2. To encourage more sustainable energy А) Connecting the Danube Region 3. To promote culture and tourism, people to people contacts 4. To restore and maintain the quality of waters B) Protecting the Environment in the 5. To manage environmental risks Danube Region 6. To preserve biodiversity, landscapes and the quality of air and soil 7. To develop the Knowledge Society through re- search, education and information technologies C) Building Prosperity in the Danube Re- gion 8. To support the competitiveness of enterprises, in- cluding cluster development 9. To invest in people and skills 10. To set up institutional capacity and cooperation D) Strengthening the Danube Region 11. To work together to promote security and tackle or- ganised and serious crime The EUSDR Coordination Structure: • The European Commission, as the executive of the EU, prepared the Strategy in 2010 in consultation with all partner countries. The Commission´s Directorate General for Regional Policy helps to implement the Strategy by facilitating and supporting actions of the participating countries. They also coordinate the Strategy at the policy level, assisted by a High Level Group. • The High Level Group (HLG) on macro-regional strategies is made up of official representatives from all EU Member States. It assists the Commission in the policy 4 A Comprehensive Vision of Ukraine's Participation in the Implementation of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region A Comprehensive Vision of Ukraine's Participation in the Implementation of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region coordination of the Strategy. The Commission consults the HLG for modifications to the Strategy and the action plan, as well as for reports and monitoring. The HLG also addresses policy orientation and prioritisation. • The Priority Area Coordinators (PACs) ensure the implementation of the Action Plan defined for the Priority Area by agreeing on planning, with targets, indicators and timetables, and by making sure there is effective cooperation between project promoters, programmes and funding sources. They also provide technical assistance and advice. The coordinators work in consultation with the Commission, and relevant EU agencies and national/regional bodies. • The National Coordinators (NCs) coordinate and keep an overview of the participation of their country in the implementation of the EUSDR including all 11 Priority Areas. The role of the NC is to promote the Strategy and inform relevant stakeholders on the national level of key developments. NCPs also assist the European Commission in its facilitation role. • The Danube Strategy Point (DSP) has been established in 2015 to improve the implementation process of the Strategy, supporting the Commission in its coordination tasks of the EUSDR.The DSP is supporting exchange among Priority Area Coordinators and National Coordinators in their tasks and promoting the Strategy predominantly at the European level. The DSP also administers funds originating from the EU institutions in the framework of Technical Assistance for the Priority Areas in the EUSDR for the years 2015-2016. THE UKRAINIAN PART OF THE DANUBE REGION Ukraine, a non-EU country involved in the EU Danube Strategy process, shares significant part of the Danube-Carpathian Region. The Ukrainian part of the Danube Region is formed by four oblasts (regions) – Odessa Oblast, Chernivetska Oblast, Ivano-Frankivska Oblast and Zakarpatska Oblast – occupying 68,100 sq km with a population of 5.9 million. In terms of a river basin approach and according to the ICPDR methodology, the Ukrainian part of the Danube Region is located in the sub-basins of the Danube Delta, the Prut and the Siret, and the Tisza River. A river basin management approach has become a basic methodological tool for defining the Ukrainian part of the Danube Region and the Danube Region on the whole. UKRAINE’S INVOLVEMENT IN THE EUSDR IMPLEMENTATION: STATE OF AFFAIRS Since the beginning of the Danube Strategy process, at the official level Ukraine has never been an active player demonstrating more or less clear understanding of its own expectations from the EUSDR. Ukraine doesn’t coordinate any priority area of the Danube Strategy. The only interest has been expressed by Ukraine in terms of the EUSDR is Priority Area 1-A “Mobility – Waterways”*1. Ukraine’s governmental level participation in Danube Strategy’s events has also been limited. As distinct from other Danube Region’s countries, Ukraine has never