Ukrainians are aware of the implementation of decentralization reform in Ukraine, and they support it. This conclusion is based on the results of a social survey “Decentralization and local self-government reform”. The survey results have been presented today in the Cabinet of Ministers by Vice Prime-Minister, Minister of regional development, construction, and housing and communal services of Ukraine, Gennady Zubko.

According to the survey, the majority of Ukrainians (59%) consider the reform of local self-government and decentralization essential. 42% of Ukrainians expect the situation in Ukraine to improve after the reform implementation.

“The people of Ukraine clearly indicated their choice of the European democratic way of development and authority decentralization. Our task is to ensure the right of the citizens for self-government and for democracy of participation in this process”, Gennady Zubko noted.

According to the survey, more than half of Ukrainian population (53%, to be exact) thinks, that it is necessary to introduce amendments into the Constitution. They support the key innovations, provided by the amendments of the basic law. Beside that, according to 43% of the respondents, decentralization reform will facilitate the resolution of the military conflict in the East of the country.

“Decentralization is the main reform of Ukrainian authority. Today EU expects successful projects. Ukraine can be such a project”, Gennady Zubko underlined.

According to Ambassador, representative of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe for coordination of cooperation programmes in Ukraine, Head of office of the Council of Europe in Ukraine, Vladimir Ristovski, support of decentralization process by Ukrainian citizens is the principal issue.

“It is important for ordinary citizens to be heard on a regular basis, for their wishes to be taken into account during the reform, for them to become a part of this process, for recommendations of the citizens to become a part of the legislation”, he said.

Vladimir Ristovski added that the social survey illustrated the basic expectations of Ukrainian citizens. These include: corruption reduction, improvement of service quality at regional and local level, facilitation of resolution of the conflict in the East of the country, and improvement of well-being.

The social survey was conducted by Kyiv international institute of sociology, on request of European Council Programme, in cooperation with Eurpoean Council experts for local self-government and Minregion of Ukraine in September-October 2015.

We should remind that approximately 800 Ukrainian communities – 6% of their general number – united into 159 new capable territorial communities, and on October 25, 2015, the first local elections were held in these communities.