Oleksandr Korniienko, the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, took part in the opening of the forum “Decentralisation 2023. Legislative Agenda”.
“The tenth session of the IX convocation of the Parliament will also have decentralisation initiatives on its agenda. The main task is not to lose sight of the priorities already identified. In particular, to continue to streamline the administrative territorial structure and work on restoration,” the First Vice Speaker stressed.
Oleksandr Korniienko noted that decentralisation has always been in the “top 5” of the legislative agenda in the ninth convocation, and in some cases, in the first place: “It is an inherited reform. For 20 years, there have been various attempts to launch it – how to transfer more powers, resources, capabilities and responsibility to the regions and communities so that people can manage their lives on their own.”
“During this time, many important steps have been taken, including the reform of the administrative-territorial structure and the transfer of land to communities,” he stressed, adding that new needs always arise, such as high-quality personnel, and work on this is ongoing.
“At the same time, it is important to hold discussions on oversight, which is part of the European Charter of Local Self-Government. Under martial law, there is no possibility to change the Constitution, but we can move towards these changes,” said Oleksandr Korniienko.
“We will face many challenges, we must prepare for them and act. Our partners have made a huge contribution to Ukrainian decentralisation. We thank them for their cooperation and look forward to continuing this movement together,” said the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
In general, the forum was also attended by MPs of Ukraine, government officials, representatives of local self-government and NGOs.
For reference. The forum was organised by the NGO “DESPRO” with the support of the USAID GOVERLA Project.
The purpose of the event is to bring together local government and territorial organisation reform stakeholders to discuss the legislative agenda of the decentralisation reform, jointly identify the needs and further tasks of the reform in the context of russia’s full-scale armed invasion of Ukraine.