“The law on local public service represents an important step in the process of public administration reform in Ukraine as it enables new quality of service and should attract professionals to it, which is very noble” said Claudia LUCIANI, Director of Human Dignity, Equality and Governance at the Council of Europe. In the context of Round Table discussion on 20 December 2023 she reaffirmed that the Council “shall continue being firmly engaged in its implementation” offering further such assistance through the Programme “Strengthening Good Democratic Governance and Resilience in Ukraine” of the Centre of Expertise for Good Governance (CEGG).

The CEGG has been supporting strengthening Ukraine’s legal framework on public administration at local level for over a decade now. It had produced four legal opinions to different versions of the draft law. Many of its recommendations were implemented by the Parliament of Ukraine and the National Agency on Civil Service and it led to adoption of the new law in May 2023.

The CEGG continues to provide recommendations on amendments to other legislation, relevant by-laws to implement the new law, and methodological guidance to local authorities. Namely, it has already contributed to drafting template procedures for HR units, personal data keeping and appraisal of local officials’ performance. Moreover, it has carried out the training needs analysis (TNA) of local public officials and presented its findings on 19 December 2023.

The CEGG co-organised the Round Table discussion in partnership with the National Agency on Civil Service and the Specialised Parliamentary Committee on Local Self-Government.