The members of the Committee on State Building took part in the High Level Dialogue on Democratic Governance Reforms in Ukraine
05 December 2023, 17:50
On 4 December, the High Level Dialogue II "Good Democratic Governance in Ukraine: Achievements, Challenges and the Way Forward in the Post-War Period", during which, under the moderation of the Council of Europe, key national stakeholders reached broad agreement on further actions to improve the legislative framework for multi-level governance and elections in the light of European standards, good practice and Ukraine's status as an EU candidate state.
"The only way to successful reforms of good democratic governance in Ukraine is a combination of wisdom, openness and mutual understanding between all key stakeholders. We need to focus on raising the standards of governance, improving the legal framework for multi-level governance and elections, and implementing careful administrative oversight of community activities. This is our common task and challenge on the path to Ukraine's accession to the EU," said Oleksandr Korniienko, the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
"Today's meeting is once again a very important step for Ukraine's free, democratic and peaceful future. The Council of Europe remains committed to supporting the country for sustainable recovery and transformation," said Mathieu Mori, the Secretary General of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.
During the event, the participants discussed:
-criteria for holding elections/referendums in Ukraine in the post-war period;
-draft legislative provisions on elections and referendums and the procedure for organising voting in certain territories;
-identification of indicators for assessing the necessary preconditions for organising elections, as well as decision-making and dispute resolution procedures;
-next steps to advance local government reform, which is an integral part of the roadmap for good democratic governance in Ukraine;
-the draft law on amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On Local State Administrations" and some other legislative acts of Ukraine on reforming the territorial organisation of executive power in Ukraine (Reg. No. 4298);
-the main guidelines and conditions for the restoration of local self-government and the transition from military to civilian administration.
"We already have some common vision on the provisions of draft law 4298, which will be prepared for a meeting of our committee. Regarding the criteria for holding elections, we have identified a number of points that need to be corrected. Work with European partners is ongoing. There is still a long way to go, but the main thing is that we are sticking to our European integration course," said Olena Shuliak, the Chair of the Committee.
The event was also attended by MPs of Ukraine – the members of the Committee Vitalii Bezhin, Alina Zahoruiko, Viacheslav Rublev, Larysa Bilozir, representatives of parliamentary factions (groups), the Government of Ukraine, the Office of the President of Ukraine, the Office of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Ukraine under the President of Ukraine, all-Ukrainian associations of local self-government bodies, individual military administrations, as well as representatives and consultants of the Council of Europe.
The event was held within the framework of and with the support of the Council of Europe projects "Strengthening Good Democratic Governance and Resilience in Ukraine" and "Supporting Democratic Post-War Elections in Ukraine", which are being implemented within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine "Resilience, Recovery and Rehabilitation" for 2023-2026.