Aimed to accelerate the pace of decentralization process in Ukraine and create a favorable environment for reforms in local self-government system, the Ministry of Regional Development and an all-Ukrainian association of local self-governments "Association of Ukrainian Cities" signed a Memorandum of understanding the purpose of activity to implement the local self-government reform on February 16.

The MOU defines the following priority areas of cooperation: the development of legal framework of local government reform, the deepening fiscal decentralization, planning and implementation of reforms in various sectors, as well as the formation of capable territorial communities.

Moreover, the document stipulates for the development of best practices to enhance local resources of local governments and to ensure their effective use, to create a legal and institutional framework to provide high quality public services to the population, to raise the level of professional qualification of local authority staff regarding the exercise of new powers in the process of reform implementation.

The Memorandum was signed by Vice Prime Minister/ Minister of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Utilities of Ukraine Hennadii Zubko and Executive Director of the Association of Ukrainian Cities Myroslav Pittsyk, which enters into force upon signature and in effect until December 31, 2016.

We shall remind that the memorandum of understanding is the result of cooperation in the framework of a USAID (United States Agency for International Development) international technical assistance project Policy for Ukraine Local Self-Governance (PULSE) and a project Public Participation in Budgeting Process on Local Level in Ukraine, financed from the funds of the European Union.