EU supports a new training programme on European studies for Ukrainian civil servants in the College of Europe in Natolin, Poland

On 3 November, the first of nine special 2-month onsite training cycles on European studies was officially launched at the College of Europe in Natolin, Poland, under the EU-funded Natolin4Capacity Building project. The training programme is addressed to Ukrainian civil servants from central public administration bodies working on the issues of European integration and its main goal is to prepare up to 50 civil servants for future enhanced interaction with the EU services as part of Ukraine’s path toward EU accession. This initiative is jointly implemented by the College of Europe in Natolin in cooperation with its key partners – the Government Office for Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, the National Agency of Ukraine for Civil Service, and the Delegation of the EU to Ukraine.

Amid Russia’s war of aggression, Ukraine continues on its European path and we are proud to support it. One such way of support is the 2-month tailor-made professional training program on EU studies at the College of Europe in Natolin, Poland, for 50 Ukrainian civil servants. Together with more than 800 civil servants currently following thematic online courses on various EU policies via the educational Natolin4Capacity platform, they will make a strong team of dedicated professionals advancing Ukraine’s progress toward EU membership, Ambassador Matti Maasikas, Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine said on the occasion of the arrival of the first group of 5 trainees to Natolin, Poland.

Today, relations between Ukraine and the European Union have reached a completely new level: we are already planning all our projects, in particular within the framework of the future recovery of Ukraine, from the position of the EU candidate country. Moving towards full membership, Ukraine also strives to contribute to building a stronger EU. And we are grateful to our European partners and the College of Europe in Natolin for the support of our experts on this path in order to improve their expertise, stated Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna.

The training programme was designed with a view to deepening knowledge and improving the competences of Ukrainian civil servants supporting Ukraine’s European integration agenda and includes the following elements:

• knowledge-based workshops covering topics related to the process of European integration, i.a. organisation and stages of the accession process, negotiation clusters, management and coordination of the accession process, policymaking in the EU;
• skills-based workshops which will include, i.a., negotiation skills/techniques and legal approximation, strengthening capacity for legal analysis and EU acquis compliance assessment, sharing of EU best practices, as well as soft skills and professional skills important for civil servants, such as, e.g. policy analysis, research writing, etc.;
• mentoring sessions and progress review with training experts-mentors;
• task and project-based training in writing analytical papers, based around a central topic or theme indicated and monitored by the project experts-mentors in consultation with the project partners.

The College of Europe is very proud to be implementing this innovative training programme funded by the European Union. It is unique in that it allows civil servants to receive training while at the same time – thanks also to the self-learning component implemented under the supervision of mentors and experts – using the acquired knowledge and skills in drafting analytical papers related to the process of European integration of Ukraine and preparation for accession negotiations, commented Ewa Ośniecka-Tamecka, Vice Rector of the College of Europe.

The first group of 5 trainees arrived in Natolin on 3 November and represents the following Ukrainian institutions: National Bank, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, and Government office for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration. In total, 50 Ukrainian civil servants will take part in the training programme from now until March 2024. 20 of them, specialising in energy-related matters, will also have a possibility to prolong their studies in the Energy Community Secretariat in Vienna.

Additionally, each participant will be able to go on three local and one international field trips related to a specific topic concerning European integration that she or he is pursuing in the respective institution in Kyiv. The selected topic will also be the subject of a written analysis prepared under the supervision of project mentors and submitted at the end of the training programme. The entire programme will be conducted in English.

Ukrainian civil servants from central executive bodies dealing with one or several areas of European integration, who are interested to follow the 2-months training program in the College of Europe in Natolin, are advised to contact the head of civil service in their respective institutions to join further selection process led by the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine.

Background information:

Natolin4Capacity Building project was launched in January 2021 and it will last till June 2024. Besides the onsite training programme for Ukrainian civil servants, the project offers an e-learning platform with 16 courses on European integration and implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement/Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area. The courses are available in English and Ukrainian languages for an unlimited number of interested civil servants. Registration for the online courses is available via the National Agency of Ukraine for Civil Service portal.

The College of Europe, established on the initiative of the 1948 Hague Congress, is the oldest postgraduate institute of European studies. The founding idea was to create an institute where university graduates from many different European countries could study and live together in preparation for careers related to European cooperation and integration. The first campus was opened in 1949 in Bruges, Belgium.

The College of Europe in Natolin (Warsaw), Poland, the sister campus of the Bruges campus, was opened in 1992 at the time of the reintegration of the European continent after the fall of the Iron Curtain. Our postgraduate advanced Master of Arts in European Interdisciplinary Studies specializes in the European neighbourhoods’ strategies as well as the European Union’s enlargement process. More than 100 students from Ukraine have graduated from the College of Europe in Natolin to date.