ODESA, SEPTEMBER 29th, 2014, CONTEXT-PRICHERNOMORIE — Public debate «European Union strategy for the Danube Region and Ukraine: opportunities, challenges and implementation» are held today in Odesa, Context-Prichernomorie correspondent reports.

Debates are held today, September 29, in the House of Representatives of the Odesa Regional Council.

Director of the regional branch of the National Institute for Strategic Studies in Odesa, a political analyst Artem Filippenko said that the co-organizers of the event are the Regional Branch of the National Institute for Strategic Studies in Odesa, Center for Regional Studies (Odesa) and the Odesa Regional State Administration.

The event is held in conjunction with the international non-governmental organization «The Danube Civil Society Forum», with headquarters in Eisenstadt (Austria), the Foundation for strong European Regions «Foster Europe» (Austria) and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.

The conference is held under the project «Strengthening the role of civil society in the promotion of the Government in the implementation of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region», funded by the European Union, and the Danube River Show, financed by the Government of Baden-Württemberg (Germany).

The purpose of the event is to discuss the current processes for the implementation of the Danube strategy at EU level and in Ukraine, analysis of opportunities for the development of cross-border cooperation and cooperation between Ukraine and other countries of the Danube region and conducting a public debate about the development of an integrated vision of the implementation of the Danube Strategy in Ukraine.

MP Sergiy Grynevetsky, local council members, diplomats, representatives of central and local executive bodies, local government bodies, leading domestic and foreign (Austria, Hungary, Sweden) experts and research institutions, civil society organizations, industry leaders maritime complex participate in the event.

Among the foreign participants in the debate are involved: the representative of the Secretariat of the 10th priority Danube Strategy «Institutional Capacity and Cooperation» Joerg Myrtle; Director of the Foundation for strong European Regions «Foster Europe (Austria) and the president of the Danube Civil Society Forum Stefan Augusts Lyutgenau, Chief of Civil Society and Media of the European Union delegation in Ukraine Colomb de Mersey.