The Chairperson of The Verkhovna Rada: Amendments to the Constitution must be adopted in order to complete the decentralization reform

Information Department of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Secretariat
11 May 2021, 18:11

Completion of decentralization reform remains an important issue for the Verkhovna Rada. This was stated by Speaker of the Parliament Dmytro Razumkov during the meeting of the Advisory Council on Local Self-Government at the Verkhovna Rada.
"The issue of completing the decentralization reform remains important for the Parliament. In this case, amendments to the Constitution must be approved," he said. Dmytro Razumkov reminded that in the past there were attempts to amend the Constitution on decentralization and noted that this time the process should be effective.
He also stressed that the support of two thirds of MPs is needed to adopt the Law amending the Constitution. "It is impossible to solve this issue by a simple majority of votes," Dmytro Razumkov added.
He noted that the Committee on State Building, Local Governance, Regional and Urban Development is currently working on the draft law. "In the near future, we will be able to see the text of the bill, which, I hope, will have sufficient support from MPs," - said Dmytro Razumkov.
The Speaker stressed that decentralization had given local authorities more opportunities to develop their regions, but also more responsibility.
In his opinion, in the conditions of the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Ukraine should focus on supporting its own industry and creating new workplaces. According to Dmytro Razumkov, one of the initiatives aimed at this is the draft law on the operation of industrial parks (No. 4416-1), which was adopted as a basis. “This is what interests the Head of the regional council, the regional administration, the mayor. Because this is an opportunity to attract investment to its territory, to create additional prospects,” he added.
The Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada also stressed that one of the key aspects of the functioning of territorial communities is their financial capacity. "This is a guarantee of the development of both local self-government and the state," he said.