The Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine has published a report on the results of public consultations on the draft document ‘Specifics of Implementing the Concept of Reforming Local Self-Government and Territorial Organisation of Power in Ukraine in the Context of Military Challenges and Preparations for Ukraine’s Accession to the European Union’.

This document summarises the results of public discussions held in September–October 2025 in three cities: Odesa, Poltava, and Lviv. More than 600 representatives of communities, local self-government associations, state administrations, public organisations, experts and international partners, including the Council of Europe, participated in the consultations.

‘The discussion confirmed the high level of interest among all parties in continuing the local self-government reform and adapting it to wartime conditions and Ukraine’s course of European integration,’ the report says.

Key points of the report

• Decentralisation remains one of the Government’s priorities. Its tasks are included in the Cabinet of Ministers’ Priority Action Plan for 2025.
• The draft ‘Specifics of the Concept’s Implementation’ does not alter the reform’s ideology, but clarifies the tasks necessary for its completion in the context of war and EU accession preparation.
• Most participants in the consultations gave a positive assessment of the decentralisation reform, recognising its effectiveness and irreversibility.
• No fundamental comments were made on the text of the ‘Specifics’. Instead, the consultations provided a platform for constructive dialogue between the central government, local authorities, and experts.

Top topics of discussion

1. Administrative-territorial structure.
   Communities expressed concern about possible changes to boundaries, or even the elimination of communities. The report emphasises that:
   ‘The specifics of the Concept’s implementation do not call for a review of the administrative-territorial structure, but rather open up opportunities for its refinement in certain cases.’
2. State supervision of the legality of local government decisions.
   The discussions focused on the need to introduce prefectural-type supervision, as set out in European standards. Although some community leaders are against it, the Council of Europe’s surveys show that the population supports the idea of state supervision.
3. Fiscal capacity of communities.
   The discussion focused on local tax administration and personal income tax payments. Participants agreed that transferring some tax powers to communities would only be possible once processes had been digitised and simplified.
4. The future of district and regional councils.
   Opinions on this issue differed: while associations of district and regional councils supported the preservation of this level of self-government, communities considered it unnecessary.
5. Local elections.
   Despite election being impossible during martial law, the renewal of the electoral system was discussed, particularly the representation of small localities in councils.

The report states that the Ministry for Development received around 100 proposals, 16 per cent of which were fully or partially adopted. Those whose recommendations were reflected in the document included the Ukrainian Association of District and Regional Councils, the Association of Amalgamated Territorial Communities, and the international Polaris project.

‘The consultations demonstrated a desire for consensus among all parties and confirmed the permanence and irreversibility of decentralisation processes in Ukraine,’ the report states.

The next step will be to submit the draft ‘Specifics of Implementing the Concept of Local Self-Government Reform...’ to regional state administrations for approval.