The Subcommittee on Administrative and Local Self-Government recommended Draft Law No. 14048 ‘On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine to Ensure Legality and Transparency in the Activities of Local Governments’ for a second reading. Read in the news post what positions were taken into account and how are they viewed by the relevant Ministry and local government associations.

This step was the result of lengthy consultations and consideration of the positions of various parties. According to the Chairman of the Subcommittee, Vitalii Bezgin, more than 2,400 amendments were considered, only one of which was accepted.

Position of the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine

The Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine actively participated in the discussion of the Draft Law and provided its proposals. Deputy Minister Oleksii Riabykin noted that the Ministry for Development is consistent in implementing the tasks of the Concept of Reforming Local Self-Government and Territorial Organisation of Power, which refers, among other things, to ‘the introduction of a mechanism of state control over the compliance of decisions of local governments with the Constitution and laws of Ukraine and the quality of public services provided to the population.’

The Ministry stated that the Draft Law in its current version duplicates existing mechanisms for control over delegated powers and therefore does not constitute a logical continuation of the reform.

Oleksii Riabykin emphasised that the Draft Law should be viewed step towards streamlining legal procedures in the field of state supervision.

‘We support initiatives aimed at increasing transparency and predictability in the interaction between the state and local self-government, and at establishing a reasonable balance. At the same time, however, we must fulfil the state’s obligations to its European partners. Therefore, we must make responsible and balanced decisions that improve the practices and impact the quality of the work of state bodies and local governments,’ he stressed.

Position of the All-Ukrainian Association of Amalgamated Territorial Communities

The AAATC supported the Draft Law in its current form, noting that several their key proposals had been taken into account. In particular:

• supervision of the acts of village, settlement, city and district councils in cities will be carried out by regional state administrations;
• individual acts have been excluded from the list of acts subject to supervision, as they are usually adopted within the scope of the communities’ own powers.

Representatives of the Association consider the adoption of the Draft Law to be beneficial for local governments, as it:

• consolidates and clearly structures existing procedures for supervising delegated powers;
• is an important element of dialogue with European partners regarding further support for Ukraine;
• has broad political support in the Parliament, which increases the chances of its adoption.

Position of the Ukrainian Association of District and Regional Councils

The UAROR supports the implementation of local self-government reform, including the introduction of supervision of the legality of local government decisions, and considers Draft Law No. 14048 to be a first step towards the further development of this system.

Dmytro Nikulshyn, Head of the Secretariat of the All-Ukrainian Association of Local Governments ‘Ukrainian Association of District and Regional Councils’:

‘The Ukrainian Association of District and Regional Councils actively participates in discussions on draft laws concerning the implementation of the indicators of the European Union’s financial support programme for Ukraine for 2024–2027 (Ukraine Facility), as well as on the introduction of supervision over the legality of local government decisions. This includes draft laws No. 4298, No. 13150 and No. 14048. More than 2,400 amendments to Draft Law No. 14048 were submitted for the second reading, but the MPs did not present these at the subcommittee meeting. This raises the question: why was there such a large number of amendments? Nevertheless, we believe that the Draft Law establishes a foundation for future initiatives in the area of state supervision and will hopefully facilitate constructive collaboration between the state and local governments in the future.’