On 17 June 2026, the Centre of Expertise for Multilevel Governance (CEMG) at the Council of Europe Congress facilitated a “Strasbourg format” meeting on the role of district (rayon) councils in Ukraine, in the context of the ongoing reform of the division of competences between the state and subnational levels of government.
The activity was organised in partnership with the Ukrainian Association of Rayon and Oblast Councils and brought together decision-makers from the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories, the Ministry of Finance, national associations of local authorities (including two associations’ presidents) as well as members of the Parliament representing different political factions and groups.
Co-moderated by Daniel Popescu of the Congress Secretariat and Sören Herbst, Head of the Multi-Level Governance Unit of the EU’s U-LEAD with Europe Programme, the discussions focused on the prospects and legal status of district (rayon) councils ahead of future constitutional amendments, as well as on their competences and financial and material resource base under martial law and in the post-war period.
The “Strasbourg format” is a methodology developed by the CEMG to facilitate dialogue among national stakeholders and support consensus-building on politically sensitive issues where positions may differ significantly. In Ukraine, this approach has already contributed to advancing policy development on fundamental elements of multilevel governance reform. For example, the report of the last Strasbourg format meeting held in 2025 served as background material for the Government’s launch of a reform of the division of competences between the state and local self-government and amongst their tiers.
The meeting was organised as part of 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”, implemented by the Centre of Expertise for Multilevel Governance at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.
