Proposals of Ukrainian government as to constitutional changes, needed for local self-government reformation and implementation of decentralization of authority were presented by Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, Volodymyr Groysman, on Monday, during the meeting of the Temporary special parliamentary commission.

Discussion participants included representatives of all parliamentary fractions and groups of Verkhovna Rada, VR speaker, and acting President of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchinov, head of Government Arseniy Yatseniuk, as well as heads of oblast’ and raion councils, representatives of local self-government bodies, city council heads, Ukrainian experts on constitutional law and local self-government, representatives of international organizations.

While presenting the Concept of local self-governance reform, adopted by the Government, and draft constitutional changes concerning authority decentralization, Volodymyr Groysman stressed the necessity for consensus between the Government and representatives of different political forces – Constitutional changes will provide the basis for laws, necessary for practical implementation of the reform.

 “We want 2014 to be dedicated to legislative changes, and we must implement these changes. This is a set of laws – changes to be introduced into the budget code, legislation on local self-government, laws on local representation of state authority, unification and cooperation of territorial communities, as well as on formation of modern regional policy. These are high-quality European laws, which we must adopt”, he stressed.

According to Volodymyr Groysman, a set of legislative initiatives will allow to build a balanced governance system in the country, outline and clearly define the competencies of local self-government bodies, grant authority and financial resources to communities and resgions, give them leverages to make an impact on their territories and reduce the influence of central apparatus and authority upon local self-government.

“Resolution of issues of any significance, arising at city level, must lie within the competency of the city itself. It is impossible for an issue of local significance to be resolved in Kiev, at the ministry level. And this is the case when we have to utilize the subsidiarity pronciple with clear definition of competencies of every level of authority”, Vice-preime-minister noted.

In the process of discussion, representatives of almost all parliamentary fractions and local self-government bodies expressed their support of the power decentralization-oriented course, proclaimed by the Government. According to the majority of discussion participants, local self-government reform will not only allow them to respond to the challenges of the present day, but also create the basis for successful development of Ukraine in future.

Parliamentaries continue to discuss proposals concerning changes in the Constitution, including other sections, in order to adopt the changes of the Basic Law of Ukraine before May of the current year.