The day before, the document passed Congressional hearings.

Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine registered the Draft Law "On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine to Improve the Participation of Local Self-Government in Inter-Territorial and Cross-Border Cooperation" (No. 9450).

The draft document is the result of close cooperation between the newly established Subcommittee on Cooperation of Municipalities and Territories of the Committee on State Building, Local Self-Government, and Regional and Urban Development and the Office of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine.

The draft law passed congressional hearings in June, which, according to Oleksandr Aliksiychuk, Ukrainian MP and Chairperson of the Subcommittee on Cooperation of Municipalities and Territories, had a good effect on the presentation of the draft law on the Congress platform.

"This is actually the first stage of a kind of public consultation on the draft law. We saw the need to adopt this draft law during the presentation and with a large number of stakeholders at the event. Even the first consultations already yielded results. This includes expanding the circle of participants in future cross-border and inter-territorial associations involving NGOs. This also means a broader wording of cooperation in the title of the draft law and expanding the terms in its entire body. Clarification of the terms set out in the draft law and their synchronisation with the European legislation, in particular with the European Charter of Local Self-Government," commented Oleksandr Aliksiychuk, a co-author of the draft document.

According to Vitalii Bezghin, Ukrainian MP, the starting point is that cross-border cooperation becomes an integral part of the state's overall policy to stimulate the development of oblasts and territories.

"It is established that the Cabinet of Ministers has to approve the State Programme for the Development of Cross-Border Cooperation, consistent with the objectives of the State Strategy for Regional Development. The draft law stipulates that the overall coordination of cross-border cooperation is to be carried out by the Ministry jointly with the VRU Committees responsible for regional policy and cross-border cooperation. These bodies are also involved in monitoring the implementation of the State Programme for the Development of Cross-Border Cooperation," said Vitalii Bezghin.

In his opinion, the adoption of the draft law to improve access to the European restoration resources. Viacheslav Nehoda, Head of the Office of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine, welcomed the first step towards the adoption of the draft law, aimed to help municipalities and oblasts establish international partnerships.

"When we held the Congressional hearings on this draft law, we intended to collect all the rational opinions of representatives of oblasts, municipalities, experts in order to incorporate them into the document. This is the way to prepare any bill before becoming a law, and this is how the Congress will proceed with other important draft laws for the local self-government," said Viacheslav Nehoda.