The Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Utilities Economy Ministry of Ukraine has opened a regional development center in Kyiv which will act as the head office in the further cooperation of actions with countries-donors helping Ukraine in the decentralization of power under a joint project with the Council of Europe.
“The coordination council will be created here, and there is a question of who will head it. I’d like that this would be a person with a strong European personality, who has experience of conducting reforms and will help us to present to our European partners how decentralization is going on, strengthening the role of the state, NGOs and international partners,” Deputy Prime Minister and Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Utilities Economy Minister of Ukraine Hennadiy Zubko said at a briefing in Kyiv on Oct. 1.
Zubko said there are currently 25 regional reform offices have been created in Ukraine.
In turn, Head of the Democratic Institutions and Governance Department of the Good Governance Division at the Council of Europe Alfonso Zardi said that regional development center representatives and experts of the international consortium of countries-donors will provide consultation services to Ukrainian partners on the implementation of reforms at the local level.
Several countries of the European Union, the Council of Europe, as Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Germany and Finland, as well as Canada and three or four their organizations will be represented, Zardi said.
Ambassador Vladimir Ristovski, Representative of the Secretary General in charge of the coordination of cooperation programs in Ukraine, added that international experts who will work in the regional development center will also provide consultations on the introduction and adoption of legal initiatives for decentralization and realization of reforms in the country in general.
Ristovski said that the project will support 25 regional reform offices in Ukraine on decentralization and territorial cooperation.
“It is being financed under the action plan of the donors’ consortium. Today we have 2.2 million euros,” he said.
