On the occasion of the Local Self-Government Day, President Petro Poroshenko signed the Decree "On Top Priority Actions for 2017 to Develop Local Self-Government in Ukraine".

The document provides for that the enhancement of legal, organisational, and financial capability of local self-government in Ukraine shall be one of the state development priorities for 2017 and it intends to move the process of voluntary amalgamation of territorial communities to the final stage in the next year.

The President instructed that the Cabinet of Ministers, with the participation of the bodies of local self-government and their associations, develop and approve a complex of measures for the next year aimed at speeding up the local self-government reform and state support of voluntary amalgamation of territorial communities. In particular, the Government has to encourage the cooperation of the said bodies with the bodies of executive power, ensure successful exercising by local councils of the powers in the budgetary, financial, educational, healthcare and other areas, which powers have been granted thereto in the course of reform. The improvement of welfare and material wealth of each of the territorial communities and each of its inhabitants should be the final result of those efforts.

Oblast (Regional) State Administration should ensure that, in the course of voluntary amalgamation of territorial communities, the interests of all participants in the process, as well as social, cultural, economic peculiarities of specific regions are taken into account.
The measures provided for in the Decree have to be exercised by the bodies of executive power subject to continuous two-way communication with the civil society, with the engagement of inhabitants in the cooperation with local public authorities and the process of making management decisions.

The document shall become effective as of the date of its publication.