Ruslan Stefanchuk, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, took part online in the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine, which took place in Lviv.

At the beginning of the session, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that the final Congress meeting, based on this year's results, is focused on what can support our communities and our Ukrainian resilience next year.

The President said: "Stability at the front, resilience within Ukraine and of relations with our partners – all this is important, and the corresponding steps are provided for by the working documents of resilience – at the level of the Office, the government, and the Parliament. I ask all of you to do your utmost to support the front, the families of our soldiers, and industries involved in defence needs."


Denys Shmyhal, Prime Minister of Ukraine, emphasized that the government pays significant attention to financial and social support for the Ukrainian regions and community development, doing everything possible to have their sustainability and capacity.

According to the Head of Government, work is underway in eight key areas, the first one which is financial sustainability.

"The resource of local budgets in 2024 is over UAH 285 billion. Next year, the potential for financial sustainability will increase to UAH 328 billion of budget resources. Communities receive subsidies and subventions from the state to perform their functions," said Denys Shmyhal.

During the speech, the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament emphasized that the Internal Sustainability Plan, which Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented in Parliament, provides, in particular, for the functioning of sustainable and capable communities. Ruslan Stefanchuk noted that thanks to the coordinated work of people's deputies, it was possible to create conditions for the effective functioning of local self-government and the development of territorial communities.

Ruslan Stefanchuk highlighted that the Parliament ensured the implementation of the principles of professional, effective and politically impartial service in local self-government bodies. He noted: "These solutions allow local authorities to work in the interests of citizens and territorial communities, ensuring high-quality governance on the ground."One of the noteworthy achievements was the settlement of the order of formation, liquidation and renaming of districts.

Under martial law, the citizen participation in local self-government and the transparency of this process are of special significance. Ruslan Stefanchuk emphasized that even in difficult times of aggression by the occupying power, the Parliament is making efforts to ensure that citizens can influence the decisions of local authorities and control their activities.

Separately, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada focused on the importance of adopting the Law "On International Territorial Cooperation of Ukraine". This document, adopted in April 2024, opens up new opportunities for cooperation between territorial communities and international partners.

Significant tasks to continue the Decentralization reform are ahead. Among them is the reform of the territorial organization of the executive branch, which involves the creation of prefectural-type bodies and the introduction of supervision over the legality of acts of local self-government bodies, taking into account European standards. It is also necessary to simplify the procedures for cooperation between communities and delineate powers between different levels of local government.

Ruslan Stefanchuk assured that the Ukrainian Parliament will continue to work to strengthen local self-government as an essential institution of democracy. "Strong and capable communities are the basis of the stability and success of our state," he concluded.

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