The EU Anti-Corruption Initiative (EUACI) Head of Unit, Allan Pagh Kristensen, has stated his intention to continue working with the city of Nikopol in the Dnipropetrovsk region to strengthen the city's integrity and transparency. This was announced during a strategic meeting with the mayor of Nikopol Oleksandr Saiuk on January 14.
Allan Pagh Kristensen noted:
“EUACI has launched a 4-year Phase II funded by the EU and Denmark. In this phase, we would like to enhance our engagement with the integrity cities, including Nikopol. We very much appreciate their willingness to reinforce the integrity of the city and continue our cooperation to this end.”
Also, during the discussion 4 areas of cooperation with Nikopol were identified:
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Strengthening and expanding the tools of integrity, transparency, and reducing corruption risks;
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Exchange of experience and best practices in Ukraine, as well as with European cities;
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Support for civil society, journalists, and business associations working to fight corruption;
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Conducting annual surveys, academic research to measure integrity activities.
The mayor of Nikopol Alexander Saiuk said:
“Today, the development of the city is impossible without the implementation of new technologies and the eradication of corruption, because it significantly affects the quality of citizens' life. That is why the local self-government must be transparent and open, and I believe that cooperation with the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative will contribute to this.”
Earlier, as part of the Integrity Cities project, Nikolopol, with the support of EUACI, has already developed a number of tools, including the GeoPortal, assessment of corruption risks in four spheres and adopted the mitigation strategy - Municipal Integrity Plan.
The EU Anti-Corruption Initiative has been supporting and assisting Ukraine in the fight against corruption since 2017, including strengthening the capacity of local self-governments, civil society organizations, and the media to increase the transparency and accountability of local authorities. The Integrity Cities project implements in five Ukrainian cities: Chervonohrad, Chernivtsi, Mariupol, Nikopol, and Zhytomyr.