Capital cities in European countries play a crucial role, not only as political centres, but also as economic, social and cultural poles, and this importance is often reflected in legislation.

In Ukraine, the Centre of Expertise for Good Governance of the Council of Europe responded to a request of the Specialised Local Self-Government Parliamentary Committee by preparing the Opinion CEGG/LEX(2021)2 on the revised Draft Law “On the city of Kyiv – the Capital of Ukraine” (#2143-3).

This document examines the compliance of the current text with the European Charter on Local Self-Government as well as with other European standards such as the Recommendations of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and with the best practice of other Council of Europe member States.

The Draft Law “On the city of Kyiv – the Capital of Ukraine”, in its current (second) version, represents a substantially revised and vastly improved text. Most major issues of concern identified in the first version have been eliminated. All Council of Europe recommendations formulated on the previous text have been addressed, albeit some only partially.

Detailed information on the Opinion and its conclusions and recommendations can be found on the website of the Council of Europe Programme “Enhancing decentralisation and public administration reform in Ukraine”.