“The Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) 2025 sent a clear message: recovery is not only a national endeavour, but a shared European project rooted in partnership, subsidiarity and trust. The unprecedented participation of local and regional leaders demonstrated that reconstruction cannot be driven solely by national governments but must be shaped by those who know their territories and their citizens best,” emphasised Congress Co-rapporteur on Recovery and Reconstruction in Ukraine Amelie Tarschys-Ingre (Sweden, ILDG) speaking in Lviv on 27 November at the Conference dedicated to the follow-up to URC 2025 (Rome, 10-11 July 2025) and planning of the next Conference, to take place in Poland in 2026.
The activity, organised by the European Association for Local Democracy (ALDA) and the Central European Initiative (CEI), gathered key representatives from local and regional authorities and their associations, the Ukrainian Government, international partners and special envoys. Participants looked back at the main results of the URC 2025 and discussed how the commitments made are turning into real actions. They also shared their experiences of facing challenges and opportunities, enhancing Ukraine’s multilevel governance system as well as extending international co-operation and peer exchanges, and explored ideas for better coordination between national, local and international actors.
The Congress Co-rapporteur presented the report on “A Strategic Approach to Supporting the Recovery and Reconstruction of Ukraine at Local and Regional Levels”, recently approved by the Congress’ Governance Committee, which is to be adopted during the Congress session in March 2026. She also outlined the on-going Congress assistance to improve both institutional and legal frameworks and quality of local and regional governance for Ukraine’s recovery through activities of the Centre of Expertise at the Congress.
Ukraine Recovery Conference: Since the Russian Federation’s invasion in 2022, the URC has served as the international community’s central mechanism for supporting Ukraine’s reconstruction, building on the legacy of the earlier Ukraine Reform Conferences.
The Centre of Expertise for Multilevel Governance at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe has implemented co-operation projects in Ukraine since 2010. The on-going support is provided within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” for 2023-2026 and the project “Strengthening multilevel governance and local democracy to support Ukraine's recovery.
