From commitment to action at the 2026 Ukraine Recover Conference (URC): Gdańsk showcases the role of coops in Ukraine’s agri-food and energy recovery toward EU integration. Read the REPORT!

On 24 June, Cooperatives Europe together with the Rural Women Business Network (RWBN), Cooperative Academy, SOCODEVI, and the Mindaroo Foundation, held the high-level URC workshop “From Rome to Gdańsk: the cooperative contribution to Ukraine’s sustainable recovery of agri-food and energy sectors towards EU integration”. 

Held in Gdańsk at the side of the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) 2026 and within the framework of #coops4dev🌍, this high-level event built on the conclusions of the URC 2025 Rome side-event “Cooperatives for the Reconstruction of the Ukraine’s Agri-Food Sector”.  

The event convened representatives from the Embassy of Canada to Ukraine, the European, Canadian, and Australian cooperative movements, and cooperative partners to further discuss  thediscuss the important roleof cooperatives in Ukraine’s socio-economic recovery. By showcasing examples of cooperative impact and resilience in wartime and lessons learned from the work of our members COPA-COGECA (EU) and the National Cooperative Council (KRS, PL), this event went beyond the agri-food sector to address the cooperative contribution to Ukraine’s Rural and Agricultural Development Strategy 2030, its national social and energy systems and the Country’s alignment with the EU Acquis. The two panel discussions focused specifically on:  

• Cooperatives’ contribution to ensuring energy efficiency, food security, and climate resilience amid conflict. 

• The potential of social cooperatives to fostering labour market integration of those most affected by the war – veterans, internally displaced people and youth, thus involving them as active players in post-conflict community reconstruction 

• The impact of international cooperative development partnerships and programs in Ukraine, notably SOCODEVI’s HONOR project and the ICA-EU Partnership (#coops4dev🌍) beyond solidarity, through the mobilisation of technical and financial assistance. 

The event closed with the presentation of the draft URC 2026 Cooperatives’ Declaration, a collective call to action by the organisers and partners toward sustained technical assistance, investment, training, and market access for cooperatives in Ukraine. Explore the discussions, case studies and key takeaways in the report! 

Since 2022, the URC promotes dialogues around the swift recovery and long-term reconstruction of Ukraine. Participating since 2025, Cooperatives Europe has long been committed to strengthening the cooperative voice in Ukraine, positioning cooperatives as key partners in the current and future Ukraine’s recovery. 

You can download the full report here.  

You can view the recording here. 

This article has been co-funded by the European Union. The contents of this article are the sole responsibility of  Cooperatives Europe and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.