Round Table: Strengthening the role
of the Euroregion Upper Prut
in the convergence of cross-border areas
On September 22, 2000, in Botosany, Romania, an agreement was signed on the formation of the Upper Prut Euroregion. The Euroregion includes the Chernivtsi region of Ukraine, the Beltsy and Edintsy districts of Moldova, as well as the Botosany and Suceava districts of Romania. Subsequently, due to the territorial-administrative changes in Moldova, members of the Euroregion have become a number of districts of Moldova, as well as Ivano-Frankivsk region. In accordance with the charter of the Euroregion, the leadership of the Council of the Euroregion is carried out alternately by representatives of the countries of the Euroregion.
In May 2019, the leadership of the Euroregion passes from the Chernivtsi Regional State Administration (CHRSA) to Botoshany District. In this regard, CHRSA, the Suceava district, CHITE KNUTE and Stefan cel Mare University in Suceava decided to hold a round table in Chernivtsi and Suceava. The purpose of the round table was a scientific discussion on the problems of the development of the Upper Prut Euroregion and the preparation of relevant proposals for the meeting of the Council of the Euroregion in the Botoshany district in the context of convergence of cross-border regions and acceleration of European integration processes.
On April 17, 2019, such a round table, organized by CHITE with CHRSA, was held in the hall of Chernivtsi National University on Bankova 1 Str.
Representatives of Chernivtsi regional state administration, Chernivtsi City Council, business structures of the city, public organizations, leading experts of CHITE KNUTE participated in the roundtable.
GostiukVasyl, Deputy Chairman of the ChRSA welcomed the participants of the round table.
Vasyl Kyfiak – Doctor of Science, Professor, Deputy Director of the Chernivtsi Institute of Trade and Economics, member of the working committee of the Euroregion "Upper Prut" on Economics, Infrastructure and Tourism, who presented the report on "Euroregion" Upper Prut ": realities and perspectives".
The report "Sustainable socio-economic spatial development in cross-border basins of Prut, Siret and Dniester in the context of European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine and Moldova" was also presented by Candidate of Technical Sciences Zinovii Broide - Advisor of the Head of Chernivtsi Regional State Administration, chairman of the working committee on environmental safety, environmental protection, sustainable development of the region and the activities of the Eco-Euroregion.
Bogdana Korop, a senior lecturer of CHITE KNUTE presented a report on the activities of the Euro-regions in Europe.
In their reports and speechesparticipants of the round table have made the following suggestions for the discussion in Suceava and Botosany.
Zinovii Broide - to discuss the creation of a railway transport network for communication north-south (Romania) - (Slovakia), the possibility of identifying priority areas of financing from EU funds.
Bogdana Korop – to make the operation of “Upper Prut” Euro-region more efficient it worth to increase attention to international statistics and to work out common cross-border statistic platform for a cross-border region aimed to analyze social and economic processes of the Euro-region. Special attention should be paid to common priorities of the development of Ukrainian- Moldavian – Romanian cross-border region by the way of the development common strategy of the region development.
Sergii Hakman (Deputy Director of the Chernivtsi Center for Retraining and Upgrading of State Officials; Vice-President of the CF "Public Resources and Initiatives", Candidate of Sciences, Associate Professor). He offered to reduce the number of territorial units of the Euroregion, in particular, at the expense of the Ivano-Frankivsk region, to involve into the working groups the representatives of public organizations and scientists, to create the Euroregion Association with the right of a legal entity.
Valerii Yevdokymenko(Doctor of Economics, Professor of Bukovyna University) - to include intellectual and innovative themes, the development of an identification card of the Euroregion, the development of registers of convergent activities, development of a system of indicators for comparing the effectiveness of cooperation priorities.
Roman Gyshchuk (Associate Professor of CHITE KNUTE) - to create passenger transportation logistics and clusters for rehabilitation and treatment.
Oleg Kozak(Director of the Chernivtsi Chemical Plant) - complete the development of normative and technical documentation for the production of competitive products.
Vasylv Liakhovych (President of the Chernivtsi Chamber of Commerce and Industry) - to create sections in which entrepreneurs would work, to intensify the promotion of the Upper Prut Euroregion, to show achievements and mistakes.
Viktor Skrypnyk (Head of the Community of Regional Tourist Organizations «Hospitable Bukovyna») – to involve specialists of tourism industry into the working groups for the development of tourist clusters and statistics.
Participants of the round table discussed offered proposals and agreed to work them out at the round table meeting in Suceava.
