First European integration hub opens in Lviv
14/02/2025
EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernová attended the opening of the first EU integration hub in Ukraine, which took place in Lviv on Friday, February 14.
The hub will serve as an educational space for Lviv residents and internally displaced persons, offering information about the European Union, Ukraine’s EU integration process, guidance on applying for EU grants, and details on opportunities available to public organisations, local government representatives, and local businesses.
“It’s incredible to open a place like this, because it’s about people and for people. Here, Lviv residents and internally displaced Ukrainians, whom the city warmly welcomed at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, will be able to create real change. I believe that new partnerships between cities, countries, and communities will originate here,” said Katarina Mathernová.
The hub will operate in a space of approximately 200 square meters on Levytskoho Street. European partners financed the hub’s furnishing, allocating a total of UAH 5.5 million. The city budget further supported the project by financing the installation of communications and accessibility features, including a lift for people with disabilities at the entrance and an inclusive restroom.
“The EU integration hub’s significance lies in its role as a space where IDPs can establish new social connections, access information about available services in Lviv and the oblast, find socio-economic opportunities, and receive support on their integration journey. This, in turn, will strengthen their potential and ability to contribute to the development and European integration of Lviv,” said Omed Ayub, Head of the Lviv Field Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The Lviv Bureau of European Integration has already planned initial activities for the hub. In the near future, it will host a workshop on EU programs available to Ukraine, and a lecture on establishing cooperation with European cities.
Notably, in 2024, the team, in collaboration with Lviv City Council institutions, secured 32 grants totalling €1,000,000 and achieved 3rd place in the European Capital of Innovation competition.