The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities is supporting Ukraine’s Ministry for Development of Communities in launching broad, transparent and inclusive consultations on the updated Decentralisation Reform Concept.

The proposed revision builds on the Concept adopted in 2014, which laid the foundation for this successful reform. It adapts this strategic document to wartime challenges and the EU integration process, as was recommended by the Council of Europe in its Policy Advice report.

The first consultation meeting took place in Odesa on 12 September 2025, gathering representatives of local authorities and civil society from Vinnytsia, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Odesa, and Kherson regions to discuss the draft proposals.

“This Concept is the only document which presents a vision for what Ukraine should look like at the end of the decentralisation process. Therefore, its updating is necessary and welcome”, underlined Daniel Popescu of the Congress Secretariat, addressing the meeting.

As part of consultations, Ukrainian stakeholders are invited to submit written feedback on the draft by 24 September and/or participate in one of the three regional meetings. Two further consultations will take place in Poltava and Lviv.

Following these consultations, the Ukrainian government plans to adopt the updated Concept before December 2025.

The event was organised 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”, implemented by the Centre of Expertise for Multilevel Governance at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.