RPR Coalition supports the Manifesto for Public Service Reform in Ukraine. A professional, depoliticized, transparent, and stable public service is crucial for ensuring Ukraine’s resilience during wartime and for the sustainable process of European integration.
We have joined forces with the Centre of Policy and Legal Reform, the Centre for Democracy and Rule of Law, Vox Ukraine, the NGO Professional Government Association (PGA), and the Ukrainian Association of Political Sciences to support and advocate for this reform.
At present, the reform of the public service faces a number of challenges: lack of transparent recruitment mechanisms and absence of competitive selection for positions, unjustified dismissals, unequal and uncompetitive remuneration systems, excessive restrictions and requirements for civil servants.
We offer the support of civil society in advancing the reform of public service and cooperation with the government in its continuation.
Last week, the Coalition together with five organizations presented the Manifesto. With the participation of Ihor Koliushko (Centre of Policy and Legal Reform), Erik Kucherenko (Professional Government), Taras Shevchenko (Centre for Democracy and Rule of Law), Kseniia Alekankina (Vox Ukraine), Serhii Horovenko (Reanimation Package of Reforms Coalition), Nataliia Kononenko (Ukrainian Association of Political Sciences), and Andrii Zabolotnyi (Centre of Policy and Legal Reform), the event addressed the key challenges of Ukraine’s public service.
Serhii Horovenko, Advocacy Manager at the Reanimation Package of Reforms Coalition, is convinced: “The Manifesto is an extremely important document, and we are glad that so many stakeholders have united around it. But it is important to understand that this is only the first step. We are talking not only about civil service as such, but also about public consultations and legislation more broadly — including sectoral legislation. The Manifesto outlines the fundamental principles and values we strive for in the reform, but behind it lies a broader vision of good governance in the fullest sense of the term.”
“The reform of public governance is extremely important for our society and country if we want to develop and become a successful, full-fledged member of the European Union. This depends greatly on the quality of our governance,” emphasized Ihor Koliushko, Chairman of the Board of the Centre of Policy and Legal Reform.
Taras Shevchenko, Development Director of the Centre for Democracy and Rule of Law, added: “We would also like this reform to become a higher priority for international partners and donors who influence the Ukrainian government in setting its priorities.”
The full text of the Manifesto is provided below, and we invite you to join via the link.
We, civil society organizations working in the field of good governance reform,
RECOGNIZING that public service reform is a cornerstone of Ukraine’s EU accession process, playing a key role in ensuring good governance and state capacity, especially during martial law and post-war recovery, including the effective delivery of public services and achieving economic well-being;
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT that a professional, depoliticized, transparent, and stable public service is essential for implementing reforms, ensuring conditions for sustainable development, and advancing Ukraine’s European integration;
NOTING that despite the resilience of Ukraine’s public service during the full-scale war, reform has slowed, particularly in areas such as merit-based staffing policy, division of competences between representative and executive authorities, provision of competitive salaries, and deployment of a human resources management information system;
EXPRESSING CONCERN that the prolonged suspension of competitive selection for public service positions—first due to COVID-19, and then martial law—together with opaque appointments and dismissals without proper communication or public reporting undermines the independence of the public service, limits the effectiveness of the executive branch, and weakens the attractiveness of the state as an employer for Ukrainian citizens and international partners;
BELIEVING that the problem goes beyond the current state of the public service and is linked to the institutional setup of governance and the corporate culture of the public service, characterized by excessive bureaucracy and routine, lack of mobility, insufficient initiative, reluctance of managers to implement change, limited career growth due to the conservative system, and opaque promotion procedures;
SHARING the objectives of Ukraine’s Public Administration Reform Strategy 2022–2025 and the Roadmap for Public Administration Reform, aimed at building an effective governance system capable of producing and implementing consistent public policy for sustainable development and responding to internal and external challenges;
UNDERLINING that public administration reform is one of the key reforms under Ukraine’s Plan within the Ukraine Facility and includes improving entry, service, and dismissal procedures, restoring transparent competitive selection as soon as possible, and launching and modernizing the unified public service vacancy portal;
We draw attention to the key issues on the way to a reformed public service, which must be prioritized to enhance its effectiveness and attractiveness:
The European Commission’s 2024 Enlargement Package report highlighted that the long suspension of merit-based competitive selection and opaque direct appointments undermine professionalism, independence, and stability. Appointments to “Category A” positions are often based on political loyalty. Even after competitions are reinstated, they need revision to include behavioral and professional competency checks and depoliticization of the High Civil Service Commission. Simplified dismissal procedures (through reorganization or a single negative evaluation) cause excessive staff turnover and undermine stability.
Classification of civil service positions and wage reform were among key EU requirements. Despite adopting Law 4282-IX, which groups positions into families and levels, gaps remain in salary distribution, leaving the system insufficiently transparent, uncompetitive, and inequitable. This causes staff turnover, undermines institutional capacity, and fuels over 30,000 annual vacancies.
Despite major anti-corruption progress, current restrictions—including lifelong “politically exposed person” status and public availability of asset declarations for all categories of officials—have created a disproportionate burden. This discourages professionals from entering public service. While transparency remains crucial, requirements should be rebalanced on principles of proportionality and necessity, ensuring a balance of public and private interests.
Prioritizing public administration reform as essential for state efficiency and EU integration, with clear political leadership:
Ensuring civil society participation in drafting the Public Administration Reform Strategy 2026–2030 in line with OECD/SIGMA recommendations.
Informing international partners about reform progress.
Introducing transparent recruitment mechanisms:
Restoring competitive selection for all categories of public service with maximum transparency.
Simplifying and digitalizing recruitment, with modern assessment methods based on behavioral competencies and technical skills.
Strengthening independence and depoliticizing the High Civil Service Commission.
Ensuring fair and adequate remuneration:
Implementing pay systems reflecting responsibilities, aligned with EU recommendations.
Preventing unjustified pay disparities across agencies.
Monitoring wage planning and distribution during budget drafting.
Enhancing the attractiveness of public service:
Transitioning from lifelong to temporary “politically exposed” status, based on position and powers.
Proportionate transparency and asset declaration rules with privacy safeguards.
Developing career growth and mobility mechanisms to attract skilled professionals.
We call on all stakeholders — the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the President, the Cabinet of Ministers, the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service, civil society, and international partners — to unite efforts to advance comprehensive public service reform, key to Ukraine’s resilience, recovery, development, and EU integration.
Initiating Civil Society Organizations:
NGO Professional Government Association (PGA)
Centre of Policy and Legal Reform
RPR Coalition (Reanimation Package of Reforms)
NGO Vox Ukraine
Centre for Democracy and Rule of Law
Ukrainian Association of Political Sciences
