Oleksandr Korniienko, the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, joined the consultations on "Regional Policy in the Framework of the European Union Accession Process".
"All communities and their residents should feel the results of regional development projects, which will be very numerous," Oleksandr Korniienko said first of all.
He also emphasised that the country's accession to the European Union is taking place in two parallel ways. The first is the harmonisation of legislation and negotiations, which are the tasks for all those who will form the policy package. The second is the actual accession of our community: "This is about communication processes – what awaits us in the European Union, what additional rights and obligations will appear."
In addition, the First Vice-Speaker drew attention to the Parliament's work on the draft law on cross-border cooperation. "Our goal is to adopt it as a whole by the end of this year or early next year," he said.
"One of the main challenges we will face in implementing projects is human resources. It should be definitely increased by using the resources left by the state in the hromadas (communities)," emphasised Oleksandr Korniienko.
In conclusion, the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine stressed that there is now a huge chance to reform not only the legislation and legal system, but also to implement practical reform on the ground: "And we must not miss it." He expressed gratitude to partners and countries, in particular, for their support of Ukrainian decentralisation.
For reference. The event was organised by the Verkhovna Rada Committee on State Building, Local Self-Government, Regional and Urban Development in cooperation with the Ministry of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine.