2023 marked a new chapter in technical cooperation between Ukraine and France. In the context of Russia’s war of aggression and Ukraine’s candidature for EU membership, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) has entrusted Expertise France with €14.5 million of financing to support the reconstruction of the country (mAIDan Ukraine Facility). In addition, in 2023, French President Emmanuel Macron appointed a Special Envoy for Ukraine’s Relief and the Reconstruction, Pierre Heilbronn.
Ukraine needs massive support and this is a major priority in the context of the ongoing war and the preparation of the reconstruction processes.
The mAIDan Ukraine programme is part of France’s support to Ukraine, coordinated by France’s Special Envoy for Ukraine’s Relief and the Reconstruction. Expertise France has pre-identified sectors of operation, including health, mobility, urban development, digitalisation, and governance.
The program aims to identify needs and sectors that French technical cooperation must address, to propose technical solutions to meet the most urgent needs and initiate structuring cooperation and to finance or co-finance technical assistance projects to leverage European funding.
Since its launch in September 2023, around ten short-term actions/projects have been identified for a total of €3.5m, which are either underway or in preparation. More than 50% of the mAIDan portfolio is made up of actions in the local governance sector, 30% in the innovation and private sector support sector and 20% in the rule of law and justice sector.
The general objective of the project is to respond to the most urgent needs of the Ukrainian population and to support preparations for the reconstruction of Ukraine. The specific objectives are based on three pillars:
1. Support to the decentralization reform, on the one hand, by ensuring the consistency or preparation of strategic documents and, in particular, complex restoration programmes at municipal level, and, on the other hand, by cross-cutting support at central level in terms of deepening the reform of decentralisation in areas where French experience and expertise are particularly recognized (State control over the actions of local authorities, territorial administrative organisation and the link between deconcentration and decentralisation, etc.);
2. Support for local development through capacity-building for local authorities at various levels, regional and local: in particular through the development of feasibility studies and concept papers regarding on priority themes (mobility/transport, agriculture, promotion of culture and heritage, innovation);
3. Support for the establishment of partnerships between French and Ukrainian local authorities as part of targeted decentralised cooperation. Material support for several sectors (depending on the needs of the local authorities) and a call for projects related to the above-mentioned themes.
Taras Shevchenko Chernihiv Regional Ukrainian Musical and Drama Theater, monument to local architecture, was seriously damaged in a Russian attack on 19 August. The project is helping to restore the theatre, in particular by funding conservation work on the building's roof.
The aim of the action is to contribute to the reform of public enterprises in Ukraine in coordination with other international donors and to provide French expertise and experience, particularly in terms of centralising the State shareholder function.
The main deliverables expected are a series of thematic seminars for the Ministry of the Economy and the State Property Fund (SPF), a concept note and a roadmap on the creation of a centralised governance body for public enterprises in consultation with other donors, as well as contributions to normative and regulatory texts.
The aim is to strengthen the DOT's ability to supply strategic goods throughout the entire procurement process with a view to certification. There are two main areas of support:
1. Setting up and deploying a robust control system for the entire process of acquiring non-lethal strategic goods (military and dual-use), based on European regulatory requirements.
2. Ensure the continuity and complementarity of the global acquisition process (from the expression of need to maintenance in operational condition).
The project will aim to mobilise French and national technical expertise to help bringing Ukrainian legislation into line with the acquis communautaire, particularly in terms of protecting the EU's financial interests and supporting the SAS in its role of inspecting and monitoring the use of reconstruction funds. The project will be structured around 3 axes:
1. Support for bringing Ukrainian legislation in line with selected chapters of the acquis communautaire;
2. Strengthening the technical and material capacity of the SAS to carry out its control and inspection functions effectively;
3. Support for cooperation and exchanges of information between the Ukrainian and European authorities (in particular OLAF) to combat fraud, corruption and other illegal activities.
French co-financing of the European PRAVO-Justice programme (Phases 2 and 3) to fund the expertise needed to select candidates for the post of judge on Ukraine's Constitutional Court, as well as activities aimed at combating environmental crime.
Expertise France, in partnership with the Ministry of Justice, will implement a capacity-building programme for NABU on three themes:
1 - Methods of operational cooperation with European countries ;
2- Development of whistleblower protection systems;
3 - Dissemination of best practice in hosting and welcoming foreign delegations.
Expertise France has been delegated the development and implementation of a regional project with the overall objective of strengthening the innovation ecosystems of the Eastern Partnership countries. France will provide co-financing exclusively for Ukraine, with the aim of supporting Ukrainian start-ups and local innovation, particularly in the Chernihiv region.
