Challenges for the regional policy of Ukraine in the context of the use of funds from the Ukraine Facility program
Authors: Storonyanska Iryna Z. , Baranetskyy Taras Ya. 
Published: November 2024

The article dwells on the importance of increasing administrative capacity at the national, regional, and local levels and building a system for the spending of EU structural funds in the context of the successful implementation of the Ukraine Facility. Attention is focused on the systemic challenges that need to be addressed in the process of implementing a new state regional policy in the context of overcoming the consequences of the Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine and bringing it closer to the procedures and best practices of the EU. The authors consider the Ukraine Facility, which has been expanded to include financial assistance for the recovery, reconstruction, and development of Ukraine, and its three components (pillars): financial assistance in the form of grants and loans to the state, reducing investors’ risks in financing investment projects for recovery and reconstruction in Ukraine through the involvement of international financial institutions, technical assistance to the government to develop and implement reforms related to EU accession and gradual harmonization of national legislation with EU Acquis rules, standards, policies and practices in view of Ukraine’s future membership in the EU. The focus of the Ukraine Facility on the importance of the role of local and regional authorities as promoters of an inclusive territorial approach to local development and the need to increase the capacity of local governments is emphasized. Special attention is paid to the use of European funds by the EU countries and an assessment of the implementation of investments in the context of individual EU countries, as well as the peculiarities of the use of allocated structural funds. The article notes that Poland’s experience in the use of funds is very valuable, as it was able to use the maximum amount among EU countries – €87.1 billion, which indicates the high efficiency of the system of interaction with structural funds built in Poland. The strategic directions of building a coherent and effective system of funds use in Poland since the early 1990s as the main goal of regional policy are outlined. Poland has been forming an effective structure of agencies for the use of European Structural Funds for more than a decade. The study of the experience of the EU countries, in particular Poland, has helped to formulate a number of lessons and recommendations for Ukraine. Ensuring the capacity to utilize Ukraine Facility funds at the national, regional, and local levels is impossible without addressing the most pressing issues, such as creating a legal framework for managing structural funds in accordance with EU requirements, building an institutional system for implementing the Ukraine Facility program and the future utilization of EU structural funds; creating appropriate tools and procedures for the preparation, management, monitoring, and control of programs and projects; availability of effective digital management platforms; ensuring a comprehensive approach to socio-economic and spatial development based on effective regional policy and modern spatial planning; implementation of multi-level management and coordination between different actors involved in program development and management of the Ukraine Facility funds; broad involvement of the scientific community in the implementation of the Ukraine Facility.