Stakeholder's conference of the Priority Area 9 of the Danube Region Strategy

On the 9th of June, Yesterday, the Stakeholder conference of the Priority Area 9 of the EUSDR (PA9) was held in Vienna.

 

The meeting was held in a hybrid format and the majority of the participants were finally able to meet in the conference hall, while somebody connected via Zoom.

 

The crisis in the region became a key topic of the meeting. The participants agreed that the crisis in the Danube region caused by the pandemic has turned into an even bigger security challenge - a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. This catastrophe inevitably affected the functioning of Priority area 9 spheres - labor markets, vocational training, social services, etc.

 

In their speeches, the Deputy Ministers of Education and Science and of Social Policy of Ukraine stressed the difficult situation in Ukraine and the need to agree on granting Ukraine the status of a candidate country for EU membership.

 

Oleksandra Husak, the coordinator of PA9 in Ukraine from the Ministry of Education and Science informed about the currente situation in education and proffesional training and the impact of war.

 

This year, besides the usual issues of PA9, the refugee exodus from Ukraine in the Danube region became the key topic in the Conference. Nadija Afanasieva the Director of the Ukrainian Institute for International Politics participated directly in the working group on the issue of asylum seekers from Ukraine in the EUSDR countries:

Host states in the Danube region must be flexible in integrating Ukrainian citizens into the labor market.

Qualified specialists and labor have left Ukraine due to the war, which is an advantage for the host countries.

It is still dangerous in Ukraine, so in order to save people's lives states should not limit the period of stay of asylum seekers in the Danube region.

Socialization and psychological support for people fleeing the war are very important.

Ukrainian children who need to continue their education in a foreign environment deserve special attention. The task of the host countries is to integrate young Ukrainians into the education system and provide special training for teachers.

Social problems should be solved by finding economic incentives and attracting entrepreneurship.