Starting from 1 May, the Law of Ukraine No 6466 will come into effect, allowing the cities of oblast significance to form amalgamated hromada in an easier way, since such cities are recognised as capable AHs by the law. This opens the opportunity for them to form a hromada with neighbouring villages under the accession procedure in accordance with the Perspective Plan.

Pursuant to the current map of AHs of the Chernivtsi Oblast, the Novodnistrovska AH includes Novodnistrovsk city and the villages of Lomachyntsi, Bilousivka, Ozheve and Vasylivka (this village council also comprises the village of Roskopyntsi).

The first steps towards the formation of this hromada were made in 2015, but the very amalgamation process has begun in 2016 and finished in 2017.

"Not everything is so simple for the Novodnistrovska AH with the adoption of the draft law number 6466. It is because the village councils that decided to join the Novodnistrovska hromada have already passed the whole procedure for the AH establishment, there was just no decision of the Central Electoral Commission on the appointment of elections. Now, according to the legislative changes, the cities of oblast significance are automatically recognised as capable hromadas and the settlements, wishing to join them, must undergo the accession procedure. Therefore, Novodnistrovsk and surrounding villages will need to repeat all procedural accession steps," explained Taras Prokop, decentralisation adviser of the Chernivtsi Local Government Development Centre, established with the support of the U-LEAD with Europe Programme and MinRegion.

At the moment, Law No 6466 has not yet entered into force, but for 18,000 residents of a potential Novodnistrovska amalgamated hromada it finally gives the opportunity to take responsibility for the development of their own territory without relying on and depending on the higher levels of government.

The full version is available in Ukrainian – please click HERE