On 26 November 2018, a cluster workshop “Development of rural areas and provision of services to the population in the conditions of decentralisation. Amalgamation of hromadas – case studies” took place in the city of Kupyansk, Kharkiv Oblast. The event was organised by the Kharkiv Local Government Development Centre, established with the support of the U-LEAD with Europe Programme and the MinRegion.

The main topic of the meeting concerned the ways of activating the formation of AHs of the Kharkiv Oblast in accordance with the Perspective Plan, namely the potential Kupyansk, Borivska, Dvorichanska, Shevchenkivska AHs.

“It is very important to understand the price of delay, as well as the political and personal ambitions that block AH formation. The subvention for the development of the AH infrastructure is a bonus for an amalgamated hromada, but there are many other benefits in terms of expanding the list of its own budget filling sources and real instruments of influence on revenues’ inflow, opportunities for improving the quality of budget services, optimization of the budget network and more efficient use of hromada’s funds, receipt of targeted subventions and additional types of state financial support for AHs,” said Maryna Honcharenko, local finance adviser of the LGDC.

The full version is available in Ukrainian – please click HERE