"Strengthening local democracy is key part of a founding act for a new Ukraine", underlines Mick Antoniw

On behalf of the PES Group, Mick Antoniw, Member of the National Assembly of Wales (UK), took today part in Committee of the Regions (CoR) delegation to Kiev, organised at the invitation of Volodymyr Hroysman, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for regional development, to discuss the Ukrainian government's proposals for a decentralisation reform.

"From the outset, CoR members have supported the democratic process for reforming Ukraine and offered their help to share good experience of administrative and fiscal decentralisation, and of building closer links with citizens. The draft legislation on decentralisation that is now under elaboration has the potential of being part of a founding act for a new Ukraine", Mick Antoniw stressed. "In order to make decentralisation become a reality, there is a need to engage bottom-up with civil society and to discuss about fiscal means and competences".

One week after the signature of the Association Agreement of Ukraine with the EU, the CoR sets out a number of proposals that can contribute to the reform process, including: strengthened separation of powers between State and local/regional governments, reallocating financial and human resources to the local and regional level; a better definition of functions and competencies of the new executive bodies of regional and district councils; a wider consultation involving all stakeholders and civil society; the possibility for regional and local authorities to use EU tools for territorial cooperation such as the European Grouping for Territorial Cooperation (EGTC); and, last but not least, a platform to exchange best practices in the context of the Eastern Partnership through the Conference of the Regional and Local Authorities for the Eastern Partnership (CORLEAP).