The adoption of draft law No. 4298 on amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Local State Administrations” is part of Ukraine’s commitments to its European partners under the Ukraine Facility program. It is about state supervision over the legality of actions and decisions of local governments. However, last week, the leadership of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, representatives of the relevant Verkhovna Rada Committee, all-Ukrainian associations of local governments, state regional military administrations, local governments, and civil society experts discussed who should exercise this oversight and how.

Olga Lymar, Executive Director of the Reanimation Package of Reforms Coalition, emphasized at the beginning of the discussion: “We are moving beyond narrow expert discussions and starting to talk directly to local government representatives. We feel that there is not yet a sufficient understanding of the topic of local government oversight, because it is not about putting pressure on local government, and this is a good European practice that should be implemented in Ukraine.”

Supervisory functions are already being carried out, the draft law is not globally new, but it should detail and structure the process of community supervision. In particular, Oleksandr Kornienko, First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, noted: “The European Charter of Local Self-Government states that supervision should be careful. That is, one that breaks local self-government, that makes it stronger and better. The state should not only provide resources, but also supervise, which will allow the community to develop and residents to realize their needs.”

Most of the speakers agreed that supervision is needed, first of all, “as a certain regulatory document that will regulate the mechanism of activity of regional administrations in relation to local governments,” said Vyacheslav Nehoda, head of the Ternopil Regional State Administration. 

“Draft law No. 4298 is very important in the context of Ukraine’s European integration and is an important part of the Fundamentals cluster in terms of public administration organization in the organization and accountability section. The implemented supervision will be thoroughly checked for quality by the European Commission to assess our readiness for European integration,” added Ihor Koliushko, Chairman of the Board of the Center of Policy and Legal Reform.

At the same time, some representatives of local governments expressed some concerns about the possible burdensome and abusive control of the supervisory authority over them. Andriy Godyk, deputy head of the Lviv regional military administration, emphasized the importance of balance: “Any democratic system requires a system of checks and balances. The introduction of oversight should be one of the basic tools of this system. However, it is important that the text adheres to the principle of balance, so that the self-governing functions of local authorities are not violated, but on the other hand, supervision is carried out.”

During the discussion, representatives of the parliament noted that draft law No. 4298 will be adopted in the first quarter of 2025. By that time, a balanced text for voting should be formulated so that, on the one hand, the self-governing functions of local self-government are not violated, and on the other hand, oversight is ensured. Vitalii Bezghin, MP, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Administrative and Territorial Structure and Local Self-Government of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Organization of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning, assured: “Draft Law No. 4298 is no longer a matter of discussion, it is already a matter of obligations to our European partners. This is our debt that we must close as part of the negotiation process.”

As a result, the roundtable participants agreed that it is important to introduce a soft model of supervision over local governments to build partnerships between local governments and local executive authorities.

The event was organized by the Reanimation Package of Reforms Coalition in cooperation with the Center of Policy and Legal Reform within the framework of the project “Support to the Legislative Framework and Policy Dialogue on National Oversight” and was made possible by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the generous support of the American people through the USAID GOVERLA Project. The contents of this event do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID and the U.S. Government.