Ukrainian communities have identified three main barriers to EU accession

Lack of funding, a shortage of personnel, and the absence of well-prepared projects—these are the three factors that local government representatives have identified as the main barriers to community development and Ukraine’s preparations for membership in the European Union.

This is evidenced by the results of a survey of participants in the “Change Is Here” program, which were presented during the forum “Change Is Here: Europe Begins with Communities”, organized by the We Build Ukraine think tank.

In presenting the survey results, We Build Ukraine co-founder Anna Yurchenko noted that local governments are currently operating simultaneously across two time horizons. “Ukrainian communities exist in two time horizons: they respond to today’s challenges while simultaneously trying to build tomorrow,” she said.

At the same time, We Build Ukraine founder Oleksandr Kubrakov emphasized that the success of European integration will depend first and foremost on the country’s internal preparedness. “In every area, there is homework we need to do. No one will do it for us.”

According to forum participants, after Ukraine joins the EU, the decisive factor will be not only access to European funds but also the ability of communities to develop high-quality projects, form professional teams, and ensure transparent governance. European funding programs do not operate as an automatic mechanism for distributing funds: priority is given to communities that already possess the necessary institutional capacity.

The Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on the Organization of State Power, Olena Shulyak, emphasized that about 70% of decisions related to European integration are implemented at the local and regional levels, and more than half of the negotiation chapters on accession directly or indirectly concern local self-government.

Economist and founder of Advanter Group Andriy Dligach urged communities to start preparing large-scale projects now. “At the community level, we must learn to work on large projects and think big,” the economist said.

Volodymyr Sheyhus, Executive Director of ISAR “Ednannia,” emphasized that community development depends not only on resources but also on the willingness to take responsibility for change. “People didn’t wait for someone else to do something. People united and joined the fight,” he noted, drawing a parallel between Ukrainian society’s experience during the war and the need for the same kind of proactivity in community development.

Separately, forum participants emphasized that community development will depend not only on governance capacity but also on the quality of the institutional environment. Dmytro Denkov, a soldier in the “Charter” Brigade and editor of Ekonomichna Pravda, noted that “businesses emerging from the shadows must receive rock-solid protection of property rights.” According to him, clear rules of the game are a necessary condition for attracting private investment and fostering community development.

At the same time, guarantees for competition alone are not enough to attract investors. Kirilo Bondar, a partner at UNIT.City and the Ukraine Phoenix Tech Fund, emphasized that capital evaluates not only potential profitability but also whether a community has a clear vision for development and is capable of implementing it. “Money isn’t looking for a quick profit, but rather a vision of the future that it’s willing to support,” he noted.

The forum also featured practical case studies of communities already preparing for the new requirements. Drohobych uses data analysis to optimize spending and develop international partnerships; the Dolyna community has brought neglected assets back into economic circulation; and Shumsk has increased local revenues by formalizing land use and collaborating with international programs. According to participants, it is precisely the track record of completed projects and the team’s ability to increasingly demonstrate its capacity that will determine the potential for attracting European funding.

At the same time, the editor and co-founder of “European Truth,” Serhiy Sydorenko, cautioned that one of the risks on Ukraine’s path to EU membership could be a loss of public confidence in the attainability of this goal.

“One of the key threats is a loss of faith that European integration will happen,” he noted.

According to Serhiy Sydorenko, Ukraine has already gone through similar phases during the signing of the Association Agreement and the introduction of the visa-free regime. “We know how to convince ourselves that we won’t succeed. And then we succeed. Every time,”—he emphasized.

This view was echoed by Olga Rudenko, editor-in-chief and co-founder of The Kyiv Independent, who stressed that Ukraine has sufficient social capital to follow this path. “We have a very strong foundation for revising the social contract. We have our own history,” she said.

At the same time, experts agree that faith in the outcome should not replace preparation. It should support the willingness to do the necessary work, even if the path turns out to be longer and more difficult than expected.

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