Chairperson of the Committee on State Building, Regional Policy and Local Self-Government Serhii Vlasenko met with Daniel Popescu, Director of the Centre of Expertise for Local Government Reform of the Council of Europe Secretary General, Olena Lytvynenko, Deputy Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, and representatives of the Council of Europe Programme “Strengthening the Capacity of Local Authorities in Ukraine”
04 February 2015, 10:37
In the course of the meeting, held on February 3, Daniel Popescu informed that one of the key tasks of the Expertise Center in Ukraine lies in promoting establishment of strong and efficient system of local self-government in Ukraine; supporting refinement of legislative basis of local democracy; providing assistance for strengthening legal and financial basis of local self-government and providing for decentralization of authority in line with the provisions of the European Charter of Local Self-Government and best European practices.
S.Vlasenko said that today it is necessary to seize every opportunity to deepen and strengthen partnership relations between bodies of state authority in Ukraine and the European institutions. He stressed that the Committee supports the proclaimed course towards the European integration of our country.
Chairperson of the Committee drew attention of those present to the
commitment of all political forces of the parliamentary coalition to the idea
of administrative and territorial reform by radically increasing the role of
local self-government. Daniel Popescu said that Centre of Expertise for Local Government Reform, particularly the abovementioned CoE Programme, is ready to provide the Committee, at its request, with recommendations, as well as expertise and legal assistance, and share experience of European countries in the issues pertaining to decentralization.
S.Vlasenko noted that “The Committee is grateful to the Council of Europe and experts, representing this respected institution, its programmes and projects, for continuous and efficient support to the Committee’s activity, and expressed hope for further development of fruitful cooperation.