Ukraine Working Group: 2021 annual meeting

Since 2015, when the Ukraine Working Group was firstly created by the European Committee of the Regions (COR), leaders of local-government associations and city mayors gather to reflect and share perspectives and concrete knowledge on Ukraine state of art in terms of politics and reform.

This year as well, led by Alexandra Dulkiewicz, mayor of Gdańsk and chairwoman of the meeting, the event was organized on November 18^th 2021 on hybrid mode.

From a general perspective, decentralization and rebalancing of administrative and financial powers represented the key aspect of the meeting. Similarly, the discussion focused on the scheduled adoption of legislation on public consultations, having also in mind the COR and European Commission joint efforts to develop city partnerships as far as supporting anti-corruption initiatives in Ukraine concerns.

Decentralization and rebalancing of administrative and financial powers represented the key aspects of this year Ukraine Working Group

Thus, Andreas Kiefer, Secretary General of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, said that “the consultation of local authorities by higher levels of government needs to be further improved and strengthened”.

Generally speaking, the meeting represented an opportunity for participants to assess the current situation in Ukraine and create a strategy for future actions.

Hence, Antonella Valmorbida, ALDA Secretary General, stressed the importance on focusing on “feasibility and inclusiveness”, when it comes to the adoption of a law on public consultation. Besides the above-mentioned guests, among the keynote speakers at this year event there were:

• Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv and head of the Association of Ukrainian Cities;
• Andrii Borovyk of Transparency International Ukraine;
• Iryna Shybaof the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative in Ukraine (EUACI);
• Ksenia Sukhova, from Mariupol City Council;
• Viacheslav Nehoda, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister for Communities and Territories Development;
• Sergii Chernov, president of the Ukrainian Association of District and Regional Councils

Overall, the meeting was a fruitful occasion to discuss on decentralization process in Ukraine and its roadmap. ALDA is very much glad to play an active role in these circumstances, working for the best of democracy development.

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Further info:
Read “Decentralisation in Ukraine continues to enjoy strong public support ” article on COR website