Polish aid

The aim of the programme is to strengthen the government administration in the Eastern Partnership countries by organising specialised training for civil servants from the partner states: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. The programme serves to develop professional civil service staff in those countries, in order to create an expert community needed to implement the principles of a democratic state based on the rule of law and modern knowledge economy.

The Academy was established during the Polish presidency of the Council of the European Union. The idea was announced at the second Eastern Partnership Summit held in Warsaw in September 2011. The establishment of the Academy was reflected in the provisions of the final declaration that was adopted during the EaP Summit.

The training courses cover the following thematic areas:

• European integration, including negotiations, EU institutions, committee procedure;
• civil service, including managing by values, civil service reform;
• economy and business, including training in public finances, management control, project management, small and medium-sized enterprises;
• local government reform;
• preventing corruption.

In 2011-2021, 40 training modules were organised for 654 representatives of public administration bodies from the EaP countries. Representatives of Georgia’s administration accounted for the largest group of participants (177 persons), followed by Ukraine’s (164) and Moldova’s (113). The government administrations of Belarus, Armenia, and Azerbaijan were represented by 70, 75, and 55 civil servants respectively.

In 2020-2021, EPAPA training courses were held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, the Academy resumed its on-site courses.