During the meeting of the Community of practice on local democracy in Ukraine held in Kyiv on 12 December 2019, Andreas Kiefer, Secretary General of the Congress underlined the vital contribution that national associations of local and regional authorities can make representing local interests in discussions with the government. He referred to the experience in Europe presented by the Congress which “shows that ineffective and uncoordinated local government associations can only weaken local democracy”.

Representatives of all five national associations of local and regional authorities of Ukraine gathered together for the first time in years to explore venues for co-operation and establishing an effective consultative mechanism with national authorities. They have exchanged and identified opportunities, challenges and actions needed to create a policy and regulatory framework that reflects the needs of local and regional authorities, as recommended by the Congress Resolution 437 (2018).

This activity is organised in the framework of the project “Strengthening democracy and building trust at local level in Ukraine”, implemented by the Congress as part of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine 2018-2021. The project aims to improve the quality of local democracy in Ukraine by strengthening institutional frameworks and by supporting local authorities and their national associations in their efforts to promote ethical decision-making and more citizen-oriented, responsive and transparent local governance.

Photos of the meeting: