24 June 2010, 11:15
Volodymyr Lytvyn, Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, believes that Territorial Structure of Ukraine should be optimized in a Comprehensive Way, considering the Expert Reviews and Public Opinion
This statement is mentioned in the article "Federalism: Concept, Political Practice, Application in Ukraine" by V.Lytvyn published in Holos Ukrainy newspaper on Thursday.
The Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine believes that the forms of state order should be discussed "without commotion, in the context of the administrative-territorial reforms to be implemented."
V.Lytvyn believes that apparent benefits of decentralization of administration system and consideration of regional interests as observed in the developed federations are "the result of a long-lasting development, the steadiness of federations being provided by consolidating (not disintegrating) processes." According to V.Lytvyn, the global experience confirms that as federalism presupposes several centres of power and levels of authority, it boosts centrifugal forces, creating new axes of conflicts. "Thus, there are no reasons to see only positive aspects in a federation, especially in the complicated Ukrainian conditions. It even may be admitted that if the issue of federalism becomes the subject of political discussions, the flywheel of ‘deliberate conflicts´ will get an incentive, while the idea will be turned into a tool of settling political accounts", the Head of the Parliament warns.
Redistribution of internal ‘power centers´ can seriously complicate the system of ‘horizontal´ ties and create new trouble spots, the Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine believes. "These threats can be especially evident in Ukraine with its clearly determined regional interests and unstable local identities", V.Lytvyn stated. "Ukraine is not ready either for the drastic alteration of the state order, or for the impartial perception of the pros and cons of refusal from the constitutionally fixed unitarianism. However, the controversies in the regional outlook (reflecting the latent conflict of interests) are so big that any stressful situation can provoke new "lines of disorder."
The Head of the Parliament calls for "a serious discussion of the levels of authority, their correlation and cooperation, optimization of the territorial order" in the context of development of new strategic objectives of Ukraine and alteration of fundamentals of its domestic, foreign and regional policy.
V.Lytvyn deems necessary to study the global experience of federalization, considering the expert review and specific Ukrainian conditions, traditions and mentality. He believes that an inter-disciplinary project "could combine the efforts of lawyers, philosophers, historians, social scientists, cultural studies scholars and policy makers to take into account the opinions of sceptical traditionalists and ground-breaking rationalists, and survey the public opinion regarding reforms of the administration system and territorial order to avoid the mistakes that caused the failure of a ‘hasty´ territorial reform in 2005."
"The territorial structure of Ukraine should be optimized in a comprehensive way, with simultaneous reforms of the branches of authority, the local self-government system and the administrative order. It is an utterly complicated task, so its settlement should include several stages with establishment of the scientific centers, regional development agencies and support of the territorial civil society communities. First and foremost, the system of amendments to require legislative support should be determined. The deputies shall focus their efforts on the drafting of bills. Pilot projects may be implemented in certain territories, for example, in the Crimea, as it is easier to establish institutions and monitor their activity at the level of autonomy. Active involvement of the public is important", V.Lytvyn stated.
The Head of the Parliament summarized that Ukraine should predict and realize its future in full possession of the benefits of different state order forms and risks of the drastic political reforms.