On the occasion of the appointment of Denys Shmygal to the post of Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine, Congress President Anders Knape addressed a letter to the new Minister on 6 February 2020, reaffirming the Congress' support for the ongoing territorial and decentralisation reforms in Ukraine.

“Substantial legislative and constitutional changes are needed in Ukraine to finalise the ongoing decentralisation and reform of local self-government,” the Congress President stated, welcoming the determination of Ukrainian leaders to move the reform process forward. “The Congress stands ready, together with the other Council of Europe partners - the Venice Commission and the intergovernmental sector - to assist the Ukrainian authorities in implementing the reforms”.

The President of the Congress also stressed that, in order to be effective and sustainable, all elements of the reform must be prepared and implemented in consultation with all stakeholders. This process and the results to be achieved must be based on the principles of the European Charter of Local Self-Government and its additional Protocol on the right to participate in the affairs of a local authority, as well as other Council of Europe instruments.

The Congress' next monitoring visit to Ukraine, scheduled for 4-6 March 2020, will assess the application of the Charter's principles as well as the implementation of the road map for the implementation of the Congress' recommendations, signed by the Ukrainian government in 2015.