The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk took part in a regular meeting of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine online
20 August 2024, 20:03
The meeting in Kropyvnytskyi was chaired by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi. The event was also attended by the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal, Head of the Presidential Office Andrii Yermak, members of the Government and heads of regional administrations.
The participants discussed the possibilities of state programmes in the energy sector, the creation of alternative energy sources, the preparation of as many educational institutions as possible for offline operation, and cooperation with partners in the European Union.
Opening the meeting, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi noted that the school year for Ukrainian children and students will soon begin, the heating season will soon begin, and all Ukrainian communities will soon be ready for it, and a new political season will soon begin for our partners, which means continuing negotiations with the European Union on Ukraine's accession and budgetary processes with our partners.
“Of course, there are many questions about the financial support of hromadas (communities). A lot is being done at the state level. But the resources available to hromadas themselves must also be used effectively,” the President of Ukraine said.
“Our main task is not only to solve common problems, but also to provide support to each specific region and each hromada,” said Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal.
According to the Head of Government, winterisation remains a top priority: “The repair campaign is underway. About ten different support programmes for people, businesses, condominiums and hromadas to install additional generation have already been launched.”
“The task for each local manager is to have hundreds and thousands of such projects to install additional generation,” stressed Denys Shmyhal.
“Today we are focusing on extremely important issues, including preparation for the heating season. This is a critical issue,” said the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
According to Ruslan Stefanchuk, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has already adopted a package of draft laws aimed at improving energy efficiency and energy independence of the energy system. These include draft laws No. 11258 and No. 11259, which provide for the possibility of applying duty and VAT exemption for the import of energy equipment into Ukraine.
“All decisions required from the Ukrainian Parliament will be adopted on the priority agenda,” the Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine stressed, adding that the issue of a sustainable heating season in 2024-2025 is extremely important for our country – a matter of national security.
In addition, he noted that it is important to find additional sources of revenues for local budgets: “The Parliament is open to an honest and professional discussion on this issue with all stakeholders.”
“The issue of introducing new tools for managing the processes of European integration at the local and regional level is relevant as part of our path to the European Union,’ Ruslan Stefanchuk said. He informed that on 15 August, the relevant Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine considered and recommended the adoption of Draft Law No. 11412 on Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on the Development of Cooperation of Territorial Communities, which provides, inter alia, for simplification of the procedure for initiating and organising cooperation of territorial communities.
“The Ukrainian Parliament is actively engaged in the issues that are currently being discussed by the Congress and will continue to do its job to ensure our common Victory,” said the Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine.
“The initiative of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi to create such a platform as the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities is a very successful and timely step to exchange views and develop the necessary solutions in the country,” the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine concluded.