On January 18, 2019, Volodymyr Omelyan, the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine met with Hugues Mingarelli, the EU Ambassador to Ukraine, Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine.

The meeting was devoted to the discussion of the EU project "Assistance to the Ukrainian authorities for improvement the infrastructure cycle management".

The event was also attended by Maxim Nefyodov, the First Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Lev Partskhaladze, the Deputy Minister of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine, Bernard Semeria, Team leader of the EU funded project "Assistance to the Ukrainian authorities for improvement the infrastructure cycle management", Natalia Forsyuk, Director of the CoST National Secretariat, representatives of the BRDO and Reform Support Team.

After the meeting, at the press conference, the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine thanked to the European side for assistance in the development of Ukrainian infrastructure and expressed his hope for further successful cooperation.

“Drive Ukraine 2030” is the National Transport Strategy of Ukraine for the period up to 2030, approved by the Government last year. We have developed it with the support of European partners and will implement it together. 39 Ukrainian infrastructure projects envisaged by "Drive Ukraine 2030" have included in the Indicative TEN-T Investment Action Plan. The plan was prepared by the European Commission and the World Bank for the development of transport links in the Eastern Partnership region”, - Volodymyr Omelyan said .

The Minister noted that Ukraine is already included in the Trans-European Transport Network and is becoming an important participant in the development of the Europe-Asia transport corridor: “For the first time, the Ukrainian transport network is becoming a part of the strategic transport and logistics corridors of the European Union. The implementation of the Indicative TEN-T Investment Action Plan will significantly deepen the European integration of Ukraine and  become in future an integral part of the pan-European transport network”.

The head of the Ministry said that the development of TEN-T network by 2030 and implementation of the “Drive Ukraine 2030” will give Ukraine the European quality of infrastructure and make the Ukrainian state an integral part of the EU transport and logistics system.

 “According to the project of the European Commission, for these 39 projects are provided 4.5 billion euros. This is a mixed funds - the European Investment Bank, the World Bank and public-private partnership”, - Volodymyr Omelyan added.

Commenting on the results of the joint meeting, Volodymyr Omelyan noted that the approaches to the management of the infrastructure cycle should correspond to the European one.

 “In order to support changes in Ukraine, the European Commission launched a technical assistance project, which is designed to assist the Ukrainian authorities in improving the management of the infrastructure project cycle. One of the main planned results of this project is the development of a Comprehensive Action Plan to improve the management of the infrastructure cycle, which will include legislative, administrative, operational, financial and organizational measures. Thus, jointly with the EU we are not only implementing infrastructure projects in Ukraine, but also changing approaches to project management to European ones”, - the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine said.

In turn, the head of the European Union Delegation to Ukraine, Hugues Mingarelli said: “The EU fully supports Minister Volodymyr Omelyan. One of the main tasks of the EU in Ukraine is to contribute to the creation of a competitive economy, the result of which will be the creation of a large number of jobs. This is very important and decisive for a country like Ukraine, and especially for young people. And, of course, one of the ways to promote the economic development of Ukraine is to create a sustainable and efficient transport system. To achieve this, we are cooperating with Mr. Volodymyr Omelyan in order to improve the regulatory framework and harmonize Ukrainian legislation in the field of transport with the European one. ”  

He also noted that the European Union will support Ukraine in the implementation of the National Transport Strategy until 2030.

“Together with the Minister, we are engaged in the implementation of the National Transport Strategy, which was adopted several months ago. As for the project we talked about today, this project is one of those tools that will ensure a more effective implementation of the National Transport Strategy. We are talking about those tools that will help the Ministry to better select, prepare and implement transport projects. And we are very pleased to cooperate with the Ministry in order to create opportunities for faster identification and subsequent implementation of transport projects in the most coordinated way”, - Hugues Mingarelli added.