Ukraine’s decentralisation reform began in 2014. Newly established communities received new powers and new sources of local budget revenue. Yet stronger financial capacity was not accompanied by a clear system of institutional change defining the distribution of functions and responsibilities. The law never established a clear boundary between the powers of the central authorities and those of communities, districts or regions. The new chain of authority built around temporary military administrations during the full-scale war has made the problem even more acute.

A law delimiting powers among levels of public governance was supposed to resolve the problem and clarify who is responsible for what. It has still not been adopted, although Ukraine was required to do so by the end of March 2026 under the Ukraine Facility.

Moreover, how clearly the state defines the responsibilities of different levels of government will determine not only the further development of decentralisation, but also whether Ukraine meets some of its EU integration commitments. The debate around draft law No. 14412 ‘On the Principles of Delimitation and Distribution of Powers among Levels of Public Governance’ is therefore no longer solely a domestic discussion about the architecture of government. With the opening of the first negotiating cluster, ‘Fundamentals’, the issue has become part of a broader task: aligning Ukrainian legislation with European standards and fulfilling the commitments that will accompany the accession negotiations.

The European system of local self-government is based on a simple principle: decisions should be taken as close to the individual as possible. In EU law, this is known as subsidiarity. The European Charter of Local Self-Government, for example, gives communities the discretion, within the law, to determine how they exercise their powers. Ukraine’s system of local self-government, despite its declared commitment to European principles, remains heavily shaped by centralised administrative practices and a blurred division of powers, which constrain communities’ capacity.

Draft law No. 14412 is intended to change this in part. It creates a framework for further reform by classifying powers and introducing rules for their distribution among the state, regions, districts and communities. A separate law, together with amendments to more than 150 existing laws and other legal acts, is expected to define the powers conclusively.

Draft law No. 14412 should bring the system closer to a model in which communities perform their functions without state interference while receiving funding both from the State Budget and from revenues generated through the exercise of their own powers. This includes, for example, building schools, hospitals and sports facilities. The change should improve the quality of public services and reduce conflicts between local self-government bodies and local executive authorities.

At first sight, draft law No. 14412 should resolve a problem left unaddressed for years by determining who is responsible for what within the system of public governance. In its current form, however, the draft law creates risks. Some provisions may expand the central authorities’ ability to influence how local self-government bodies exercise their powers and may jeopardise communities’ autonomy. This contradicts the logic of decentralisation, which involves transferring not only resources and responsibilities, but also the freedom and capacity to make decisions locally.

For example, draft law No. 14412 contains a proposal that is inconsistent with the Constitution: some powers of local self-government bodies would be defined by secondary legislation rather than by laws. This would allow the Government or other executive authorities to change the rules without going through the full parliamentary procedure. A community might, for example, introduce an innovation that falls within its formal powers. The Cabinet could then change the implementation procedure through secondary legislation, forcing the community to revise or postpone the decision. For residents, the result is straightforward: what was promised was not delivered or did not become operational on time.

The draft law also proposes allowing legislation to prescribe exactly how local self-government bodies must perform the powers and functions assigned to them. This would not only conflict with the European Charter of Local Self-Government, which grants communities autonomy in such matters, but would undermine the very essence of self-government. If a community is responsible for maintaining local roads, for example, it rather than the law should decide whether to establish a municipal enterprise, hire contractors or combine different approaches.

In addition, the draft law introduces ‘optional powers’ that executive authorities may ‘pass down’ to the executive bodies of local councils ‘on a contractual basis’. It is unclear who would be responsible for these tasks or how they would be financed. This is inconsistent with both the Constitution and Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 1748 and is generally alien to European law.

The draft law also provides for limited judicial review, meaning that communities would have little practical ability to protect themselves against interference by other public authorities. Some matters they currently decide — including permits, certificates and approvals, setting rates for local taxes and fees such as property tax, tourist tax and parking fees and granting exemptions — could therefore remain within their competence only formally, without any effective means of exercising those powers or defending them in court.

Adopting draft law No. 14412 in its current form could disrupt the balance among branches of government, create conflict between Parliament and the Government over the model of public governance, slow EU integration and eventually lead to the law being declared unconstitutional.

As Ukraine seeks to answer the question of who is responsible for what, the draft law intended to provide that answer risks leaving communities dependent on the centre once again. The new rules for distributing powers should not reproduce a post-communist centralised model but should reflect European practices. They should support a transition to a system in which communities are not passive implementers of central government decisions, but full participants in public governance within the limits established by law.

At a round-table discussion, the Agency for Legislative Initiatives (ALI) presented its study on how local councils function under martial law. The event, organised jointly with the NGO DESPRO, brought together members of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on the Organisation of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning, as well as representatives of the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine, the Central Election Commission, all-Ukrainian associations of local self-government bodies and civil society.

The findings of the study ‘Local Councils under Martial Law’ were presented by Oleksandr Zaslavskyi, ALI Deputy Executive Director for Analytical Work.

It is important for Ukraine to preserve a system of self-government that underpins the viability of communities. The legitimate foundation of local self-government was laid before the full-scale invasion, but the number of council members in some councils is declining for various reasons. This affects quorum requirements and creates a risk that the councils will no longer have the legally required composition to exercise their powers.

ALI’s analysis covered 24 regional councils, 119 district councils, 1,449 village, settlement and city councils and Kyiv City Council. At regional level, the Donetsk and Luhansk regional councils are not functioning, as they were not elected in the 2020 local elections. In addition, the Zaporizhzhia Regional Council held no plenary sittings in 2025. At district level, 17.6% of councils are not functioning, while the figure at basic level, comprising village, settlement and city councils, is 14.6%. This situation primarily concerns Kherson, Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

The expert added that basic-level councils also have the largest number of vacant mandates. At the beginning of February 2026, 3,407 mandates in basic-level councils were vacant. The principal ground for the early termination of a mandate is a council member’s personal resignation. This may be linked to migration, including internal displacement, and restrictions on local council members crossing the state border. Reduced motivation and the lack of readiness of some council members to perform their duties under the extreme conditions of war also cannot be ruled out.

Vitalii Bezghin, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Administrative and Territorial Organisation and Local Self-Government of the Committee on the Organisation of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning, emphasised that, despite the war, Ukraine has preserved the fully democratic nature of its system of multi-level governance. Local self-government nevertheless faces daily challenges, with the declining number of local council members becoming a particularly acute problem. The issue is usually discussed in the context of communities with up to 10,000 voters, but in reality, it affects all levels of local self-government.

The second presentation of the interim Shadow Report: the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, together with a coalition of civil society organisations, presented the findings of its monitoring under the ‘Functioning of Democratic Institutions’ area of the ‘Fundamentals’ cluster. It covers Parliament, European integration, elections, civil society, governance and multi-level governance. The report sets out the current state of play, the progress of reforms in this area, and recommendations from experts at the organisations concerned.

Experts of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, Civil Network OPORA and the Centre for Democracy and Rule of Law shared their work. The presentation was joined by representatives of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood (DG ENEST), which is responsible for enlargement and EU accession negotiations with candidate countries and potential candidates.

Oleksandr Zaslavskyi, Deputy Executive Director for Analytical Work at ALI, congratulated the coalition partners and the EU representatives on the opening of the ‘Fundamentals’ cluster for Ukraine.

Under the ‘Parliament’ section, participants discussed the challenges and recommendations relating to parliamentary reform, the autonomy of the Verkhovna Rada, the legislative process and related matters. The expert noted that, since the start of the full-scale invasion, the Verkhovna Rada has remained functional and legitimate, and that during the first session under martial law parliamentarians passed 258 laws — the largest number of laws adopted in a single session in the history of the Ukrainian parliament.

The presentation also addressed Ukraine’s progress on the European integration track, in particular the planning and development of law-making, policy implementation, and the monitoring of the changes introduced.

One of the significant achievements in this area has been the approval of the National Programme for the Adaptation of Ukrainian Legislation to European Union Law. It is now important to enshrine in law the status and binding nature of the National Programme, and to align it with the Verkhovna Rada’s legislative work plan.

During the presentation of the ‘Governance’ section, Oleksandr Zaslavskyi described the current situation — namely the structural and staffing changes in the Ukrainian Government, the challenges in its interaction with the Verkhovna Rada, and the planning of government activity, particularly with regard to fulfilling international commitments.

On multi-level governance, Volodymyr Skrypets noted that the European integration processes are continuing in this area too: in December 2025 the Government adopted Resolution No. 1748, ‘Certain Issues of Reforming Local Self-Government and the Territorial Organisation of Power under Martial Law and in Preparation for Ukraine’s Accession to the European Union’. However, under conditions of full-scale war, the problems that come to the fore are those linked to the depopulation of Ukrainian communities, the falling number of local council deputies, and the attraction of investment at the local level, including the implementation of the State Strategy for Regional Development.

As a reminder, the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, together with a coalition of civil society organisations, previously presented to the European Commission the interim findings of this year’s Shadow Report under Chapter 23 ‘Judiciary and Fundamental Rights’ and Chapter 24 ‘Justice, Freedom and Security’.

For the third year running, the coalition of civil society organisations coordinated by ALI has been monitoring and assessing Ukraine’s progress on European integration. This is an independent, alternative analysis by representatives of civil society and the expert community, coordinated by ALI. The coalition comprises experts from the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, Transparency International Ukraine, the Human Rights Centre ZMINA, Tomorrow’s Lawyer, Europe without Barriers, the Ukrainian Bar Association, Civil Network OPORA and the Centre for Democracy and Rule of Law, with media support from European Pravda.

As has become customary, the new Shadow Report will be published ahead of the European Commission’s report on Ukraine’s progress within the European Union Enlargement Package in 2026.

The Shadow Report is a systematic audit by sector experts from civil society organisations. It does not duplicate the state’s official documents or the European Commission’s assessments and is not dependent on their positions. Rather, it is an analytical tool for developing a professional and comprehensive understanding of European integration processes, one that involves experts in the reform process. At the same time, it assesses how far Ukrainian legislation and the system as a whole conform to EU standards.

Producing shadow reports is a regular practice for all candidate countries seeking to join the European Union. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, North Macedonia and Moldova, independent coalitions of civil society organisations have for years carried out alternative monitoring of reform progress in areas such as the rule of law and the functioning of democratic institutions. In Ukraine, this work has been carried out systematically since 2024, when a coalition of civil society organisations first prepared an alternative analysis to accompany the European Commission’s report on Ukraine’s progress within the European Union Enlargement Package.

The Shadow Report is entirely a product of civil society, regardless of its sources of support. To strengthen the institutional independence of the process, from 2026 ALI is establishing a new trend: the Shadow Report is also financed by independent civil society organisations. A significant share of the funding for its development will be covered by the Agency for Legislative Initiatives and Transparency International Ukraine. ALI takes on the mission of ensuring the maximum impartiality and objectivity of this preparation process, as it does every year.

The evaluation of legislation is an important component of the law-making process, as it makes it possible to identify shortcomings and gaps in legislative acts and to assess their impact on various aspects of public life. In addition, analysing the practical implementation of laws contributes to building an open dialogue between the legislator and stakeholders.

In European countries, legislative evaluation is applied to assess the achievement of stated objectives, identify shortcomings and unintended consequences, and amend legislation to enhance its effectiveness.

In Ukrainian practice, the attention of Members of Parliament is primarily focused on the mere adoption of legislative decisions, whereas the ability of legislation to achieve its declared objectives and the effectiveness of its implementation remain without proper evaluation. At the same time, the absence of a systematic approach to legislative evaluation makes it more difficult to identify problems in a timely manner and reduces the overall effectiveness of law-making activity.

From August 2019 to June 2025, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted several laws in the field of local self-government and regional development aimed at continuing the decentralisation process. Not all of them have been analysed in terms of their practical application. Meanwhile, under wartime conditions, communities face new challenges, which in turn necessitate a prompt and high-quality review of legislation.

Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to analyse selected laws in the field of local self-government and regional development adopted between August 2019 and June 2025 inclusive and to assess the practice of their implementation.

1. what factors influence the quality and effectiveness of legislative provisions;
2. to what extent the adopted legislation corresponds to the needs of territorial communities;
3. how improved communication between the legislator and local self-government bodies (LSG bodies) can contribute to enhancing the legislative process and increasing the effectiveness of law implementation.

The study also contains a number of recommendations for legislators, local self-government bodies and central executive authorities aimed at developing a systematic approach to the application and evaluation of legislation.

Although in Ukraine the requirement to conduct legislative evaluation will enter into force only after the termination of martial law, the study provides recommendations that can be applied in practice now.

More on the evaluation of legislation in the field of local self-government and regional development can be found in the new issue of the journal Parliament, published by the Agency for Legislative Initiatives.

This study has been prepared with the support of Sweden. The content of the document is the sole responsibility of the NGO ‘Agency for Legislative Initiatives’ and does not necessarily reflect the position of Sweden.

The study offers a comprehensive overview of socio-economic conditions across the deoccupied territories, spanning 15 communities in the Kyiv region, 10 in the Mykolaiv region, and 28 in the Kharkiv region. One of the major challenges in conducting such a complex analysis was the complete absence of baseline data. To address this, ALI initiated data collection from scratch and developed a custom data matrix to provide decision-makers with the necessary information.

Oleksandr Zaslavskyi, Deputy Executive Director of ALI, explained the team’s decision to scale the study to three additional regions after piloting the methodology in the Kherson region.

Vitalii Bezghin, Head of the Subcommittee on Administrative and Territorial Structure and Local Self-Government of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on State Building, Local Governance, Regional and Urban Development, noted that ALI’s research on Kherson region had offered a comprehensive picture of the current situation — which sparked demand for similar analysis in other formerly occupied, now liberated regions. Such findings, he said, should form the foundation for the next steps by both Parliament and the relevant ministry, and the study’s detailed data would be of interest to both the public and key stakeholders.

How Can ALI’s Data Be Interpreted and Understood?

The study was conducted in three stages. In the first stage, the Legislative Initiatives (ALI) collected statistical data across six groups of indicators: socio-demographic, infrastructure, financial, migration trends, cooperation, and access to public services. The second stage involved assessing the financial capacity of communities using a composite index made up of 11 indicators, including revenues, expenditures, and the level of budget dependence. In the third stage, ALI interviewed local officials, including heads of communities and military administrations. The research period spanned January to April 2025.

Volodymyr Skrypets, the Analytics Lead at ALI, presented the study’s key findings:

Tamila Tasheva, Member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on State Building, Local Governance, Regional and Urban Development, emphasised that in regional development planning, the unique challenges of deoccupied communities are often insufficiently taken into account — and that studies like this one offer a foundation for a more systemic understanding of those challenges.

She also stressed the importance of communicating such findings to Ukraine’s international partners — who need to see the real picture on the ground and the progress made despite all odds.

Context. Back in 2023, the Agency for Legislative Initiatives (ALI), in cooperation with the Verkhovna Rada Committee on State Building, Local Governance, Regional and Urban Development, conducted a study on the state of public services in deoccupied communities of the Kherson region. During the research, it became clear that information was neededbeyond the scope of public services. ALI, therefore, launched an additional study to enable a more comprehensive analysis and to uncover interrelated challenges across sectors. Following the completion of work on the Kherson region, demand emerged for similar research on deoccupied communities in Kyiv, Mykolaiv, and Kharkiv regions.

The complete study “Analysis of the Socio-Economic Situation in Deoccupied Communities: Kherson Region” is available here. The study on Kyiv, Mykolaiv and Kharkiv regions is currently being finalised and will be published soon.

The presentation took place as part of the project “Parliamentary Accountability of the Security Sector in Ukraine” (PASS Ukraine), implemented by ALI in partnership with the Parliamentary Centre (Canada), in cooperation with the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and with support from Global Affairs Canada under the Peace and Stabilization Operations Program (PSOPs).

A special focus of the event was the presentation and discussion of ALI’s analytical study “The Status of Local Council Members,” previously developed at the Committee’s request. The report examines how current legislation was applied during the 2020 local elections and presents findings from a nationwide survey involving 2,279 local self-government officials across various regions of Ukraine.

Olena Boiko, contributing expert with ALI, delivered the study’s key findings, highlighting areas for legislative improvement regarding the status of local council members. The presentation covered a wide range of issues, including challenges posed by the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion; early termination of mandates; underrepresentation in local councils; the imperative mandate; guarantees and safeguards for council members’ activities; communication between the public and local council members, and mechanisms of accountability, oversight, and responsibility of local council members.

The discussion brought together a wide range of stakeholders, including Members of Parliament Oleh Dunda, Dmytro Mykysha, Dmytro Chornyi, Oleksandr Aliksiychuk, Andrii Klochko, Oleksii Ustenko, and Kostiantyn Kasai. Participants also included representatives from national and local government bodies across the Poltava region: Volodymyr Kohut, Acting Head of the Poltava Regional State Administration and Acting Head of the Regional Military Administration; Oleksandr Bilenkyi, Head of the Poltava Regional Council; and Mykola Riznyk, Head of the Opishnia Settlement Council. Also present were local council members of various levels, representatives of leading local self-government associations, as well as experts and international partners.

Vitalii Bezghin, Head of the Subcommittee on Administrative and Territorial Structure and Local Self-Government of the relevant Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, emphasised the importance of maintaining feedback and transparent dialogue between government representatives at all levels.

During the panel discussion, participants addressed several pressing issues, including:

• the specific challenges of operating local councils under martial law;
• the procedures for acquiring and prematurely terminating the mandates of local council members;
• the impact of the banning of certain political parties on the work of local councils;
• guarantees for the activities of local council members;
• alignment of the status of local council members with European standards;
• ensuring proper representation in local councils;
• the need to regulate questions of council members’ ethics;
• problematic aspects of local council members’ work within the local council and their constituencies;
• strengthening the accountability and responsibility of local council members to their constituents.

Oleksandr Zaslavskyi, Deputy Executive Director of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, stressed the need for a consolidated approach to all key issues related to the status of local council members, as well as the practical application of mechanisms such as public consultations on legislative initiatives.

In this context, the ALI study holds particular value, as it is methodologically grounded in field research — specifically, a survey of local self-government representatives. These are not merely stakeholders, but one of the target groups for future legislative changes.

Olena Shuliak, Head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on State Building, Local Self-Government, Regional and Urban Development, highlighted the importance of addressing issues related to the accountability and responsibility of local council members. However, she noted that the topic of ethical standards for council members — both at the national and local levels — remains largely unregulated.

As a reminder, in late 2022, a draft law on the Code of Ethical Conduct for Members of Parliament was registered in the Verkhovna Rada. Among its co-authors are experts from the Agency for Legislative Initiatives. However, the process has yet to move forward beyond its registration.

A recording of the roundtable discussion is available at the link.

The roundtable took place within the framework of the project “Parliamentary Accountability in Ukraine’s Security Sector” (PASS Ukraine), implemented by the Agency for Legislative Initiatives in cooperation with the Parliamentary Centre (Canada), the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and with the support of Global Affairs Canada through the Peace and Stabilization Operations Program (PSOPs). 

The event was also supported by the “U-LEAD with Europe” programme.

The issue of the status of local members is becoming increasingly relevant: in 2017, the Agency for Legislative Initiatives already studied this matter and, in particular, developed Policy Proposals to Regulate the Status of the Local Council Members. On the other hand, enough time has passed, further changes have taken place in local government reform, and the regulation of the status of local members still requires special attention — and an update of the legislation in the light of current challenges.

The study was carried out in several stages:

1. Desk study: analysis of legislative acts regulating the status of local council members; the study of the practical implementation of the Law “On the Status of Local Council Members” following the 2020 local elections, analysis of legislative initiatives to improve the status of local council members etc.;
2. In June 2024, an online survey of local government representatives was conducted to assess the status of local council members. The survey involved 2,279 respondents from all regions of Ukraine. Of these, 94.7% were local government representatives; the majority of respondents — 67.2% — were or are members of local councils. Notably, most respondents represented the rural population: 33.6% of villagers, 21.4% of towns and 45% of city dwellers.

With the outbreak of full-scale Russian aggression, the problems in exercising local council members’ powers and in the regulatory framework for the status of local council members have become even more visible.

1. The legislation contains inconsistencies in defining the representative functions of local council members: they are simultaneously considered representatives of the interests of the territorial community and of the voters in their constituency. However, a city district or regional council member does not represent the interests of the territorial community, as district and regional councils represent the common interests of territorial communities of villages, settlements and cities. A district or city council member represents voters’ interests within the territory of the district or city council. 
2. In 2022-2024, 19 pro-Russian political parties were banned in Ukraine by the courts. However, the current legislation does not provide for the automatic loss of mandates by council members elected on the lists of such parties and does not contain any restrictions on the powers of local council members in the event that a court decision banning a political party enters into force. 
3. The status of local council members is not defined in the legislation in the context of the transfer of powers of local self-government bodies to the relevant military administration and the temporary non-exercise of powers by local councils and local council members. 
4. The current legislation does not define the concept of ‘council member’s ethics’; instead, it lists insufficient rules for comprehensive legal regulation. Moreover, there are no sanctions for violation of these rules.

In addition to regulatory inconsistencies, there are other dangerous trends, such as a decrease in the number of local councils. Given the classified data on the state of local self-government under martial law, the situation with the full functioning of local representative bodies is potentially critical. The shortcomings identified point to the need to amend the legislation governing the status of local council members.

Read more about the problems and recommendations for optimising the status of local councils in Ukraine in the context of full-scale war — in the new ALI study.

The study was conducted within the framework of the project “Parliamentary Accountability of the Security Sector in Ukraine” (PASS Ukraine), which the Agency implements together with the Parliamentary Centre, in cooperation with The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and with the support of Canada’s Foreign Policy—Global Affairs Canada as part of the Peacebuilding Program and stability (PSOPs).

Optimisation of the administrative service delivery system is one of the areas of public administration reform and a task of the Public Administration Reform Strategy of Ukraine for 2022–2025, which aims to “create conditions under which individuals and legal entities receive high-quality and accessible administrative services through convenient and understandable procedures”. Improving the accessibility of administrative services in the context of public administration reform is mentioned in the conclusions of the European Commission. In addition, bringing services closer to citizens is a key aspect of decentralisation. According to the Law of Ukraine “On Local Self-Government in Ukraine”, organisational support for the provision of administrative services through administrative service centres (ASCs) is a delegated responsibility of local self-government bodies (LSGs).

The Public Administration Reform Strategy envisages several indicators of reform progress in the area of administrative services, in particular: 

• the level of citizen satisfaction with the quality of administrative services (target values for 2025: 80% in ASCs, 70% in government agencies, and 90% in electronic form);
• the number of electronic public services (including through the Unified State Web Portal) (target for 2025: 250 services);
• share of electronic resources for interaction and exchange through the Trembita system (target for 2025: 90%);
• the level of integration of certain administrative services in the ASC (targets for 2025: civil status registration services, social services — 90%, services related to passport issuance and processing — 80%, services related to pensions, taxation services for citizens, registration (re-registration) of vehicles and issuance (exchange) of driver’s licences — 50%);
• compliance of the ASC network with the administrative and territorial structure (targets for 2025: ASCs in district centres — 80%, ASCs in communities — 80%);
• number of simplified procedures for the provision of administrative services (target for 2025: 5);
• implementation of the law on administrative procedure (targets for 2025: 90% of the required laws submitted to the Parliament, 80% of civil servants trained in the relevant procedures).

In addition to the list of indicators, the Strategy contains several tasks:

1. development of the ASC network;
2. ensuring further integration of services into ASCs and decentralisation of powers;
3. implementation of a unified system for monitoring and evaluating the quality of administrative service delivery;
4. review and optimisation of administrative service delivery procedures.

The Strategy envisages quarterly monitoring and preparation of annual reports on the implementation of the Strategy’s measures. In the latest report for 2022, the measures were implemented by 89% and the indicators by 59%. Currently, collecting up-to-date data on the progress of the Strategy’s tasks in the area of administrative services is difficult due to martial law. In addition, the Strategy’s implementation indicators were set before the full-scale invasion, so their full implementation under martial law may not be possible.

The Law No. 943-IX, adopted in 2020, determined the gradual establishment of ASCs in all communities: by 2022 in communities that were district centres as of 1 January 2020, by 2023 in communities with a population of more than 10,000 residents, by January 2024 in communities with a population of up to 10,000 residents (provided state funding is available). As of the end of 2022, the ASC network included 3,142 units: the ASC coverage indicators showed 100% of district centres, 75% of communities with a population of more than 10,000, and 56% of communities with a population of less than 10,000, which exceeded the indicators of compliance of the ASC network with the administrative-territorial structure for 2022 planned by the Strategy (60%, 37%, 15%, respectively). However, the full-scale invasion impacted the pace of ASC network expansion, particularly due to the cancellation of the state subvention, temporary occupation of some communities, and damage and destruction of ASCs. Nevertheless, as of the end of the second quarter of 2024, the total number of ASCs in the network reached 4,585, with remote workplaces (67%) and ASCs (29%) accounting for the largest share. 

One of the indicators of the progress of public administration reform is the level of citizens’ satisfaction with the quality of administrative services. As of the end of November 2024, the level of satisfaction with the quality of services provided by ASCs is 94.7%, which exceeds the target set by the Strategy (78% as of 2024). 

Accessibility and convenience in the field of administrative services are among the principles defined in the Law of Ukraine ‘On Administrative Services’. The results of the all-Ukrainian survey conducted by Kantar Ukraine in December 2023 show an improvement in the convenience of ASCs (58% in 2023 compared to 44% in 2021), as well as the convenience and speed of service delivery (47% and 45% in 2023 compared to 36% and 33% in 2021, respectively). 

However, there is an issue with the low level of physical barrier-free accessibility of ASCs. As of the second quarter of 2024, only 59% of ASCs have barrier-free access to their premises, 58% are equipped with ramps, 56% have stairs with handrails, and 27% have sanitary facilities. Additionally, the monitoring of the status and needs of de-occupied and affected communities conducted by PROSTO project experts in July 2023 indicates a significant deterioration in the level of inclusiveness of ASCs in these communities. This is due to the damage and destruction of administrative buildings, which forces the provision of services in temporary premises that often do not meet the requirements of inclusiveness. 

One of the tools that can bring services closer to recipients in the de-occupied territories is mobile services. As of the second quarter of 2024, the number of mobile ASCs was 37, which is about 1% of the total ASC network. However, monitoring of the work of mobile ASCs during the war revealed low efficiency due to the insufficient frequency of visits (1–2 times a month) and the limited number of services provided (less than 10 per visit). 

The functioning and development of the ASC network directly depend on financial support. Approximately 90% of administrative services in ASCs are provided free of charge to recipients, while income from paid services covers only up to 30% of the actual costs of their provision. In other words, the current model of financing the administrative services sector is structured in such a way that the costs of maintaining ASCs and providing administrative services are covered mainly by local budgets, which are especially limited under martial law. To address this issue, the Public Administration Reform Strategy has recognised the need to regulate the administrative fee at the legislative level, update the methodology for calculating the amount of the administrative fee, and align the legislation with the Law of Ukraine ‘On Administrative Services’.

At the same time, the registered Draft Law No. 4380 (‘On Administrative Fee’) has been under consideration in the Verkhovna Rada since 2022. Experts note that the possible obstacles to its adoption are the resistance of central authorities providing administrative services and producers of forms. In March 2023, the regulation of fees for administrative services was identified as a priority for the Ministry of Digital Transformation for 2023–2025 as part of the Government’s State Anti-Corruption Programme. 

On 1 January 2024, Resolution No. 1386 came into effect, which provides for an increase in fees for certain administrative services. As a result of these changes, local budgets may receive an additional UAH 1 billion in revenue from the provision of administrative services in 2024.

The Law of Ukraine ‘On Administrative Services’ stipulates that the list of administrative services to be provided by ASCs is approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. As of September 2024, this list includes 450 administrative services, with the number of mandatory services depending on the community type, its location and technical capabilities. On average in Ukraine, ASCs currently provide 200–400 administrative services. However, the results of selective monitoring of ASCs in Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro and Kharkiv showed that not all ASCs provide a full range of mandatory services. Monitoring data on the implementation of the Strategy’s measures for 2022 showed that the target indicators of the level of integration were achieved in all defined areas of administrative services, except for services in the field of taxation (2% compared to the target value of 5%), registration (re-registration) of vehicles and issuance (exchange) of driver’s licences (9% compared to the target value of 10%). At the same time, there is currently no up-to-date data on the level of integration of services in ASCs, which may be related to the inability to obtain them due to martial law.

Overall, there are difficulties with the integration of such services:

1. State registration of civil status acts (civil registry): despite the relevant powers granted to local authorities by the Verkhovna Rada in 2021, the Ministry of Justice does not allow them to fully provide these services. In August 2023, the Interregional Department of Justice published an Algorithm of Actions for the exercise of delegated powers in the field of state registration of civil status acts by executive bodies of local self-government registration, partially removing some obstacles to the exercise of delegated powers in the field of civil registry by LSGs.
2. In September 2022, administrative social services (ASS), including the allocation of housing subsidies and certain types of state benefits, were transferred from the Department of Social Protection of the Population (DoSPP) to the Pension Fund of Ukraine (PFU). This caused difficulties due to poor communication, duplication of data in several information systems and PFU’s requirements for additional documents.  
3. As of July 2023, passport services were available in only 23% of ASCs. At the same time, the network of territorial units of the State Migration Service (SMS), which are the main points of access to passport services, is shrinking. The integration of passport services into ASCs is complicated by the high cost of equipment, fees for secure communication, and the refusal of the SMS to transfer equipment after the closure of its territorial units.
4. Pension services are provided in the territorial offices of the PFU and through remote workplaces of PFU employees in ASCs according to a defined schedule. At the same time, the PFU has not ensured the full transfer of these services to the LSG level.
5. Business and real estate registration is complicated by the insufficient number of state registrars. The reason for this was an almost two-year break in the state attestation. On 12 June 2023, the first attestation was conducted after the break, with only 16 individuals (8% of all participants) successfully passing the test for real estate registrars and 5 individuals (3% of all participants) passing for business registrars.
6. Services for veterans and their families were added to the list of mandatory services to be provided through ASCs in June 2023. As of the end of May 2024, 869 ASCs had implemented the provision of veteran services based on the ‘Single Window’ principle. 

One of the objectives of the Strategy is to introduce a unified system for monitoring and evaluating the quality of administrative service provision. The Law of Ukraine ‘On Administrative Services’ stipulates that monitoring of the quality of administrative services includes the collection and analysis of data to improve the quality of their provision and is carried out in accordance with the approved Procedure (CMU Resolution No. 864). The monitoring and evaluation of the quality of public (electronic public) services are among the main tasks of the ‘Diia’ portal. The monitoring is conducted on a quarterly basis, with results being published on the National web platform of administrative service centres, which demonstrates that this task of the Strategy has been fulfilled.  

The increase in the number of electronic public services is one of the indicators of the progress of public administration reform. Issues related to the provision of public services in electronic form are regulated by the Law of Ukraine ‘On Peculiarities of Provision of Public (Electronic Public) Services’, which provides for the approval of an action plan for the transfer of public services to electronic form. The 2023 Action Plan included 30 tasks, of which, according to the Ministry of Digital Transformation, 37% were completed as of the end of 2023, 33% were partially completed, and 23% were not completed. The action plan for 2024 was not approved. 

According to the Strategy, the target value of the indicator for the number of electronic public services for 2024 was set at 200 services (250 services for 2025). The Government’s Priority Action Plan for 2024 in the area of Public Administration and Digitalisation provides for the expansion of access to 210 electronic services through the Unified State Web Portal of Electronic Services. As of the end of 2023, more than 130 services were available on the portal and in the ‘Diia’ app, more than 30 of which were launched in 2023. 

As of the end of June 2024, the number of users of the ‘Diia’ app reached over 20.5 million, with an average monthly growth of 100,000 users. Data from a 2023 KIIS survey shows that over the three years of observation (since 2020), the usage rate of ‘Diia’ has increased from 13% to 51%, with most respondents considering the experience of using electronic services positive. However, the 2023 Digital Literacy Survey indicates that 40.4% of the Ukrainian population has digital skills below the basic level, limiting their ability to effectively use electronic services. 

One of the indicators of the success of the public administration reform is the share of priority state electronic information resources connected to the Trembita electronic interaction system. According to the report for the second quarter of 2024, 90% of priority state registers were connected to the Trembita production environment, exceeding the target for this indicator (80%). A total of 141 electronic information resources have been connected to the system, with 238 state and local government bodies participating. Plans for 2024 include expanding the system’s performance and launching a subsystem for monitoring access to personal data, which will help increase transparency of information processing and enable citizens to control the use of their personal data.

The public administration reform indicators include the implementation of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Administrative Procedure’, with the target indicators of progress being the share of draft laws submitted to the Parliament that are necessary for the implementation of the law (90% by 2024) and the share of civil servants who have received relevant training (60% by 2024). The Law of Ukraine ‘On Administrative Procedure’ (LAP) came into force in December 2023. The initial list of regulations to be harmonised included 134 documents. In October 2024, the Parliament adopted the Law (4017-IX) amending 196 legal acts. As of the end of 2023, more than 10,000 civil servants, or approximately 6% of their total number, had completed training and acquired the necessary knowledge.

To ensure progress in public administration reform in administrative services delivery, it is necessary to continue work in the following key directions:

Development of the ASC network:

1. revising the requirement to establish ASCs in all communities; an alternative may be to provide access to administrative services through community cooperation;
2. in border and frontline communities, instead of building new ASCs, it is worth focusing on the optimal use of existing infrastructure and expanding the network by creating remote workplaces for administrators;
3. enhancing the inclusivity of ASCs;
4. ensuring compensation for paid administrative services through legislative regulation of administrative fees.

Integration of administrative services into ASCs and decentralisation of powers:

1. classification of administrative services at the state level according to the needs and capacity of communities, identification of a group of ‘basic’ services that are most needed in communities;
2. when expanding the list of mandatory administrative services for ASCs, it is necessary to account for the capabilities of communities and provide them with adequate organisational and resource support.

Monitoring and evaluation of the quality of administrative service delivery: introducing a unified system for monitoring the effectiveness of mobile ASCs, improving the planning of their work to meet the current needs of the population, expanding the list of administrative and other public services that can be provided through mobile ASCs.

Review and optimisation of administrative service delivery procedures:

1. strengthening the capacity of local self-government bodies to implement and deliver services through training and methodological support;
2. further simplification of procedures, introduction of comprehensive administrative services based on the ‘life situation’ model, where individuals require several services at the same time;
3. minimising digital inequality, strengthening the role of ASCs as ‘digital intermediaries’;
4. ensuring that new services introduced in electronic format have an offline alternative (at ASCs).

This publication has been prepared within the framework of the ‘Improvement of Governance in Ukraine: Enhancing Policy Making for Social Progress’ Project with the support of Switzerland. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the NGO ‘Agency for Legislative Initiatives’. The opinion of the authors does not necessarily reflect the views of the donor.

Improving the service in local self-government bodies (LSGs) is one of the priority changes in the context of public administration reform. This is one of the directions of the Public Administration Reform Strategy of Ukraine for 2022–2025, aimed at ‘developing a professional, integrity-driven, politically neutral civil service and service in local self-government bodies, whose activities focus on protecting the interests of citizens’.

Key areas for the development of service in local self-government bodies include:

1. establishing a professional and politically impartial service in LSGs;
2. ensuring equal access to service in LSGs;
3. harmonising legislation on service in LSGs with the Law of Ukraine ‘On Civil Service’. In addition, the European Charter of Local Self-Government (Article 6) and conclusions of the European Commission address the human resources management at the community level and the improvement of the status of employees in LSGs.

The Public Administration Reform Strategy does not provide for specific indicators of progress in reforming the LSG service, instead it defines indicators of reforming the public service in general (i.e. both the civil service and the LSG service). The absence of dedicated indicators for the LSG service limits the ability to measure the progress of its reform, however, the Strategy identifies a task related to the LSG service, namely the adoption of a new version of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Service in Local Self-Government Bodies’, which should enhance the prestige of the LSG service, improve the status of employees, provide opportunities for career growth, increase salaries, and improve the quality of professional training for local self-government officials.

The adoption of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Service in Local Self-Government Bodies’ in 2023 was a major step towards reforming the service in local self-government.

This Law will come into force after the end of martial law and will introduce the following changes:

1. establishment of the principle of political impartiality for employees while strengthening their social guarantees and rights in disciplinary proceedings;
2. establishment of a framework for the professional development of employees (creating a structural unit responsible for improving professional competences, developing an individual professional development programme for employees) and career opportunities (assigning the appropriate rank for employees with subsequent career progression);
3. distinction between the status of local self-government employees and elected local self-government officials;
4. establishment of a salary framework for positions;
5. streamlining procedures for open competitions for positions (with announcements and results published publicly);
6. significant increase in the level of social and legal protection of employees (they can appeal against violations of their rights to the heads of the service).

As envisaged by the public administration reform, the Law contains the same wording as the Law of Ukraine ‘On Civil Service’, which indicates common approaches and a combination of procedures. The synchronisation of the two laws — ‘On Service in Local Self-Government Bodies’ and ‘On Civil Service’ — can be witnessed in the following aspects:

• principles of service;
• list of activities;
• correspondence between the terms ‘local self-government employee’ and ‘civil servant’;
• functions of the HR department and the head of the service;
• career progression and ranks of employees.

The new Law fully regulates the service in local self-government bodies and aligns with the provisions of the European Charter of Local Self-Government. The completeness and comprehensiveness of the service regulation is confirmed by the fact that a significant number of issues are addressed in this Law, rather than in the Law ‘On Civil Service’ or the subordinate acts of the CMU (as was the case before). In some cases (mostly broad issues that require the involvement of different structures and cannot be regulated otherwise), the Law includes references to the subordinate acts of the CMU.

Communities (hromadas) will have the authority to independently regulate certain aspects of service in local self-government bodies, namely those related to:

• conducting performance appraisals;
• developing and organising work with the personnel reserve;
• HR management in LSG bodies;
• drawing up an individual professional development programmes for the employees;
• approving the salary framework for employees, determining the amounts of bonuses, etc.

This Law gives communities the right to account for their local peculiarities, while applying uniform approaches defined by the regulations and procedures of the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service (NAUCS).

One of the objectives of the Public Administration Reform Strategy is to carry out a comprehensive change in the remuneration system for both civil servants and LSG employees. According to the new Law of Ukraine ‘On Service in Local Self-Government Bodies’, salaries will be calculated based on the minimum salary thresholds, categories of positions, the official minimum wage and local needs. For a long time, there has been a problem of mismatch between employees’ salaries and market conditions, and bonuses were considered compensation for low salaries. As of January 2024, the mandatory payments of a chief specialist of a local self-government body amounted to an average of UAH 6,785 (5,500 — salary, 400 — rank, 885 — length of service). In accordance with the Law of Ukraine ‘On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2024’, the minimum wage is UAH 7,100 from 1 January 2024, and UAH 8,000 from 1 April 2024. This means that, on average, the salary, including mandatory payments, is less than the minimum market wage.

Given the complexity and responsibility of the work of local government employees, addressing salary regulation is a pressing issue, as the last adjustments to salary levels were made in 2021, and the new Law ‘On Service in Local Self-Government Bodies’ will come into force after the end of martial law. Thus, the following decisions have been adopted:

1. In April 2024, the government issued Resolution No. 484, which increased the salaries of local government officials (the minimum salary for a specialist was set at UAH 7,100, while other salaries were increased by 35%). Of course, the newly established salaries of LSG employees are higher than their previous levels, which is a positive change. However, there are reservations about this Resolution, as the amount of the official salary does not correspond to the minimum wage effective from 1 April 2024 (which is UAH 8,000). This will lead to the fact that, as in previous years, only with the use of bonuses and longevity allowances will LSG employees be able to expect a decent level of remuneration;
2. In March 2024, MPs registered the draft law No. 11054 ‘On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Service in Local Self-Government Bodies” to Ensure Decent Remuneration Conditions for Local Self-Government Officials’. This draft law establishes the minimum salary of a local government employee at a level not less than the minimum wage. Additionally, it establishes mandatory publication of decisions of local self-government bodies establishing bonuses, additional payments for additional workloads and other monetary payments to local self-government employees. In this part, the All-Ukrainian Association of Communities supports the provisions of the draft law No. 11054;
3. Draft Law No. 10284 of 24 November 2023, which increases remuneration for the additional workload of employees involved in international programmes (budget support from the European Union, governments and/or municipalities of foreign countries, etc.).

Another important task of the public administration reform is to train and improve the competences of LSG officials. Ukraine has approved the Strategy for the Development of the Professional Training System for Civil Servants, Heads of Local State Administrations, their First Deputies and Deputies, Local Government Officials and Members of Local Councils until 2027, designed to standardise training procedures for employees of administrations and local governments.

According to the NAUCS study, raising the level of professional competence of local self-government officials and local council members is recognised as the most important factor for improving the efficiency of local self-government. The main motivation for raising their professional level among the respondents is the desire to provide quality services in the community or to effectively fulfil their duties as council members (from 74.4% to 90.7% of respondents). The next most important motivations are the desire to learn something new (75.2% to 82.5%) and to understand the unknown (75.6% to 83.3%). Interest in career advancement and support from management were less important factors.

Training and advanced training are provided by higher education institutions, postgraduate education institutions (including the Higher School of Public Administration), research institutions, as well as 18 regional training centres coordinated by the NAUCS. As of August 2024, a total of 2,522 local government officials have completed training at various educational institutions.

However, the full-scale invasion has significantly complicated access to training for employees. In particular, the lack of internet connection and electricity has reduced the accessibility, and distance learning reduced the effectiveness of these trainings for employees.

Another problem is insufficient funding due to limited resources and the focus of defence spending in Ukraine. Annual state budget allocations for professional training are determined based on the real budget capacity and do not cover the necessary costs of professional development in accordance with the needs, and even the limited funding is reduced in conditions of martial law.

The problem of staff shortages in local self-government bodies has also impacted the effectiveness of training. The excessive workload of local self-government employees, coupled with a growing shortage of staff, leads to a formal attitude of managers to employee training, and due to a lack of time, to an inability to participate in training on a regular basis.

The effectiveness of the public administration reform depends, among other factors, on the results of the changes implemented in the local self-government service. Although the Strategy does not provide for specific indicators to measure the progress of changes in the service in local self-government, it outlines tasks related to the adoption of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Service in Local Self-Government Bodies’ and improving the quality of professional training for local self-government officials. The new Law of Ukraine ‘On Service in Local Self-Government Bodies’ has been adopted, but martial law does not allow for the full implementation of its provisions. Therefore, today it is necessary to consider the complexity of the process of training highly qualified personnel, forming a personnel reserve, and developing procedures and model regulations. Thus, the following remains relevant:

1. Studying and analysing the needs of officials in terms of training and improvement of skills in LSGs;
2. Proper planning, training for officials with adaptation to the conditions of wartime;
3. Adoption of a draft law on remuneration of local government officials, which will allow for an increase in salaries even during martial law;
4. Preparing local self-government bodies for changes in human resources policy and the need to change the organisational structure of LSG;
5. Development and adoption of acts of local self-government bodies to regulate labour relations, as well as the admission to and performance of service in local self-government bodies;
6. Development and adoption of procedures, methodological recommendations, and model regulations by the NAUCS, based on which local governments will be able to develop their own normative legal acts.

This publication has been prepared within the framework of the ‘Improvement of Governance in Ukraine: Enhancing Policy Making for Social Progress’ Project with the support of Switzerland. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the NGO ‘Agency for Legislative Initiatives’. The opinion of the authors does not necessarily reflect the views of the donor.

Context. Earlier, ALI analysed the issues of legislative support for the status of local council members at the Committee’s request with a view to further developing legislative changes in this area. The study includes an analysis of the practices of applying the current legislation during the 2020 elections, as well as the results of a survey of local government representatives. 2,279 officials from different regions of Ukraine participated, of whom 94.7% are representatives of local governments and 67.2% have experience as local council members. This is the second presentation of this study.

The event was attended by Ukrainian MPs, members of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning, representatives of governmental authorities, local governments and their associations, international organisations, and the expert community.

Oleksandr Korniienko, First Deputy Chair of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, opened the event and stressed the need to work on issues relevant to local self-government, from updating the legislation on the status of local council members to updating the approach to community capacity.

Vitalii Bezgin, MP of Ukraine, Chair of the Subcommittee on Administrative and Territorial Structure and Local Self-Government of the relevant Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, stressed the importance of such discussions and the opportunity to communicate with representatives of parliament and local government on problematic issues.

Oleksandr Aliksiichuk, MP of Ukraine, Chair of the Subcommittee on Cooperation of Territorial Communities and Regions of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning, stressed the importance of gradual but constant joint cooperation with local self-government.

Oleksandr Zaslavskyi, Deputy Executive Director of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, stressed that further discussions on various aspects of the study were necessary and would help in further work.

Olena Boiko, an ALI-engaged expert, presented the main results of the study and key recommendations for improving the status of local council members through legislation.

Tetiana Lukeria, an ALI-engaged expert, stressed that the Agency had already studied the issue of the status of local council members – the first study was conducted by ALI in 2017. In particular, it mentioned the imperative mandate and the fact that this practice is not used in European countries, where they either strengthen the local electoral system or local democracy. She also noted that ALI was conducting research with de-occupied communities, in particular on the status of local council members when the powers of local governments are transferred to the military administration, so the discussion of the imperative mandate is very important.

Viacheslav Rublov, MP of Ukraine, Chair of the Subcommittee on Regional Policy and Local Budgets of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning, stressed that local self-government should also be concerned about its problems, in particular, by sending appeals regarding decisions that impede or even block the work of councils.

Alina Zahoruiko, MP of Ukraine, Deputy Chair of the Committee, Chair of the Subcommittee on Elections, Referendums and Other Forms of Direct Democracy of the Committee on State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional and Urban Development, answered questions about partisanship and the imperative mandate of local self-government representatives. After all, Ukrainian legislation is outdated and does not fully meet the current challenges, and changes need to be made, not just on a piecemeal basis, but systematically and carefully.

During the panel discussion, participants exchanged views and shared possible working models on the following current issues affecting the work of local councils in wartime:

• issues of acquiring and early termination of powers of local council members;
• impact of the ban on certain political parties on the work of local councils;
• guarantees for the activities of a local council member;
• compliance of the status of a local council member with European standards;
• ensuring proper representation in the local council;
• regulation of MP ethics;
• strengthening the accountability and responsibility of local council members to the voters.

In particular, much attention was paid to the problems of quorum, the possibility of organising meetings of local councils in a mixed format, the risks of deepening partisanship of local councils and the preservation of human resources, as all, even purely organisational aspects of local councils’ work subsequently affect the capacity of communities.

The event was part of the project “Parliament and Accountability of the Security Sector in Ukraine” (PASS Ukraine), which the Agency implements jointly with the Parliamentary Centre (Canada), in cooperation with the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and with the support of Global Affairs Canada within the framework of the Peace and Stabilization Operations Program (PSOPs).