On May 12, the Western Ukrainian National University hosted a scientific and practical conference “European Guidelines for Public Administration” organized by the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service in cooperation with the Higher School of Public Administration and the Center for Adaptation of the Civil Service to the Standards of the European Union.

“We realize that the status of a candidate for EU membership is an impetus for the introduction of new standards of European governance. And that is why it is important that our work is based on in-depth data analysis, effective consultations and dialogue with all stakeholders,” said Nataliia Aliushyna, Head of the National Agency, in her opening remarks.

According to the Head of the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service, it is important to talk about strengthening the institutional capacity of public authorities in the field of European integration.

“The NAUCS is doing everything to ensure that the modern system of professional training of public servants is open to ideas, technologies and innovations. The High School of Public Governance, as a subordinate educational institution of the NAUCS, unites an expert network of specialists in European integration. This allows us to build a kind of coworking space for business and friendly partnerships,” said Nataliia Aliushyna.

Addressing the audience, the Rector of the Western Ukrainian National University Andriy Krysovaty said: “Despite the fact that the war is still going on in Ukraine, we are already thinking about the post-war recovery of the country. Ukraine needs to continue its reforms, and not only because the European Union requires us to do so. Reforms are, first and foremost, about the level of responsibility of each of us for the processes taking place in the political, economic, social and humanitarian spheres and Ukraine’s achievement of significant progress in these areas. Today’s agenda includes the adaptation of national legislation to the European legal space, deepening the integration of Ukrainian business into EU markets, the practical introduction of visa-free travel in various areas, further sectoral integration, etc.

“The war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine has contributed to the pro-European unification of the nation and accelerated European integration processes in the country. 2022 was a year of testing for the whole country and for the system of public administration. We have proven that in these circumstances, the executive branch and local governments must work quickly, efficiently, and in a coordinated manner. Our goal today is to implement the best European practices of public administration,” said Viktor Ustenko, Deputy Head of the Ternopil Regional Military Administration.

Volodymyr Mozgunov, Head of the National Commission for State Language Standards, spoke about the tasks of the Ukrainian state in the context of European integration, development and approval of state language standards.

During the plenary session, Yuliia Lykhach, Director of the High School of Public Governance, presented the institution’s experience in professional development of public servants on European integration and emphasized the need to combine the efforts of all educational service providers to build a system of professional training in the field of European integration and adaptation of legislation to EU law.

During the plenary session, the rector of the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine Stanislav Nikolayenko, vice-rector for academic affairs of the National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute” Anatoliy Melnychenko, rector of the National University of Chernihiv Polytechnic Oleh Novomlynets, first vice-rector for scientific and pedagogical work of the National Forestry University of Ukraine Oleksandr Sushynskyi, director of the educational and research center of the National University of Science and Technology of Ukraine Olena Kulinska addressed the conference participants.

The conference was the final event of the Europe Week and was held with the aim of integrating efforts to find effective approaches to solving current theoretical, methodological and practical challenges related to the formation and functioning of an effective public administration system in accordance with the SIGMA principles of public administration. Based on the results of the conference, it is planned to publish a collective monograph “European Guidelines for Public Administration”.