On December, 2 there were the Ukrainian-German intergovernmental negotiations within cooperation for development 2020, headed by Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, on behalf of Ukraine. The negotiations touched on the progress of the local self-government and territorial power arrangement reform in Ukraine.

Georg Milbradt, Special Envoy of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany for the Ukrainian reform in the areas of governance and decentralisation, emphasised that Germany welcomes courageous and significant steps, having been recently taken by Ukraine, targeted to developing the local self-government under the European Charter principles.

«We can see that thanks to decentralisation Ukraine is changing for the better, as the authorities are becoming closer to people, more efficient, capable and responsible. It will contribute to the country economical growth. I would like to congratulate the newly-elected hromada heads, having deserved voters’ confidence and obtained considerable opportunities to justify the confidence. Germany will go on supporting hromada heads via the U-LEAD with Europe Programme, training them and providing their advanced training. We will also continue to support Ukraine in developing the legislative framework and implementing laws», - said Georg Milbradt.