At a meeting chaired by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Odessa on 29 October 2021, Council of Europe Congress Secretary General Andreas Kiefer addressed (online) the Presidium of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Ukraine - a platform for co-operation between Ukrainian central authorities and local governments.
Secretary General Kiefer welcomed the Congress' long-standing co-operation with the Ukrainian authorities at all levels of governance, in particular in the framework of monitoring the implementation of the European Charter of Local Self-Government. He recalled that the roadmap co-signed in 2015 includes several axes to improve decentralisation in Ukraine: constitutional changes for the finalisation of the decentralisation reform, transfer of competences to the local level, financial autonomy, and, as a condition for success, a system of permanent consultation with the representatives of national associations of local and regional authorities
The Secretary General of the Congress also presented the ongoing co-operation activities in Ukraine aimed at strengthening institutional consultation and dialogue on all issues of interest to local authorities, such as the platform for national-local dialogue on open government established with the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers, as well as the support for the development of inclusive and accountable local and regional authorities that put citizens at the centre of the local decision-making process. He reaffirmed the support of the Congress which will continue its co-operation with the Ukrainian authorities, notably in the framework of the next Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine (2023-2026).
The agenda of the meeting included the repercussions of the Covid-19 crisis in the regions of Ukraine, as well as the development of the Odessa region. Speakers included the Chairman of the Presidium of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak, the Minister of Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine O. Chernyshov, Mayor of Odessa G. Trukhanov, Head of the Zaporizhia Regional State Administration O. Starukh, Head of the Poltava Regional State Administration O. Sinegubov, Mayor of Myrhorod S. Solomakh and Head of the Odessa Regional State Administration S. Hrynevetsky.
