Ukraine discussed the Roadmap for Good Democratic Governance in Ukraine in the area of local self-government, whereunder the Action Plan was developed by the Ukrainian side following the High-Level Dialogue at the Headquarters of the Council of Europe in November 2022. The discussion took place as part of the round table “Good Democratic Governance in Ukraine: Achievements, Challenges and Way Forward in the Post-War Period”. Representatives of the state authorities of Ukraine, local self-government bodies, their all-Ukrainian associations and the Council of Europe presented their positions on the implementation of the document.

Oleksii Kuleba, Deputy Head of the Office of the President, spoke on behalf of the Office of the President of Ukraine and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine.

He extended his gratitude to Ukraine’s long-term partner, the Council of Europe, represented Ms Claudia Luciani and Mr Daniel Popescu, for their consistent support in building local democracy and in carrying out important reforms in the organisation of local self-government and administrative-territorial structure.

“Today, in the conditions of war, our cooperation and our dialogue have become of particular importance and meaning. Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine created completely new challenges and tasks for the authorities. The safety of many people — and, occasionally, the success of our troops at the front lines — often depends on the position of a specific representative of the authorities, the speed and quality of decisions, efficiency and interaction.  Today it is obvious that the local self-government bodies formed through the Decentralisation Reform have become the basis for resistance to Russian aggression,” said Oleksii Kuleba.

According to him, military administrations have been established in some municipalities that have been de-occupied or are still under occupation, as well as in those facing a significant military threat. Such decisions, as Oleksii Kuleba emphasised, are based on a single concern, the safety of the people and the national security of Ukraine. After all, Ukraine needs clear and timely coordination of military, law enforcement and civilian components.

“I must stress that this is a temporary measure, and once the legal regime of martial law is lifted, the local self-government bodies will fully resume their operation. We acknowledge our task of providing a clear procedure for the transition from military administrations to military-civilian administrations. And, ultimately, full resumption of the work of local self-government. This task fully coincides with the Roadmap being discussed today. We must spell out how it should happen, specific deadlines and territories in the legislation,” said the Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.

At the same time, according to him, the legislation regulating the activities of local state administrations needs improvement, especially in terms of supervision over the lawful nature of decisions of local self-government bodies. To this end, Oleksii Kuleba suggested returning to Draft Law 4298 on local state administrations to find common ground based on its key provisions.

Among other important strategic tasks, the representative of the President’s Office named the preparation of a package of legislative initiatives for the launch of the final stage of the Decentralisation Reform in Ukraine, which includes amendments to the Constitution and a package of other general and sector-specific laws.

“That is why we support the list of measures in the section of the Roadmap on strengthening the capacity of local self-government, taking into account the challenges that arose under martial law in relation to the process of Ukraine’s recovery and accession to the EU.”

He also reminded that in 2022 the National Council for the Recovery of Ukraine from the War had been established by the Decree of the President of Ukraine. It is developing a comprehensive road map that covers a variety of social and economic areas, including a separate direction on the development of local self-government, and is partially interconnected with the Road Map for Good Democratic Governance in Ukraine.

“It is essential for all of us to join forces and coordinate the implementation of the tasks of both documents. To this end, I suggest making the most of the platform of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine, which was created to strengthen the cooperation of authorities at all levels, to discuss the current problems of municipalities and regions and to join efforts to overcome them,” said Oleksii Kuleba.

The round table is organised by the Council of Europe programme “Strengthening Good Democratic Governance and Resilience in Ukraine” (website, Facebook) as part of the Council of Europe Action Plan Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” 2023-2026 in partnership with the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.