On 13 November, the XXXIII meeting of the Coordination Council for Public Administration Reform and the meeting of the Public Administration and Governance Sectoral Working Group took place.

The meeting was chaired by Oleh Nemchinov, Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Opening remarks were made by Oleksandr Korniyenko, First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and Stefan Schleuning, Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Ukraine.

“Today we have gathered in an expanded composition to hold a meeting of the Public Administration and Governance Sectoral Working Group. Given that one of the main tasks of this working group is to support the implementation of the public administration reform, it seems appropriate to bring all participants together to discuss in a comprehensive manner the current issues of the reform, its priority areas, and financial support,” opened the meeting Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers Oleh Nemchinov.

The event was also attended by MPs, representatives of the Office of the President of Ukraine, the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the National Agency for Civil Service, the State Audit Service, the Accounting Chamber, NGOs and foreign partners.

“The public administration reform should move on to the next stages of its implementation, including the need to draw interim results and plan future actions. It is also about creating incentives and motivational mechanisms that would allow both the system as a whole and the people in positions to develop. In general, the reform of public administration and management is a fundamental step towards transparent, accountable and effective government, which is one of the tasks of Ukraine’s European integration process,” said Oleksandr Korniyenko, First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

The following topics were discussed during the event:

• The European Commission’s report on Ukraine’s progress in implementing public administration reform within the framework of the EU’s 2024 Enlargement Package.
• Implementation in 2023 of the Public Administration Reform Strategy of Ukraine for 2022-2025 and the Public Finance Management System Reform Strategy for 2022-2025.
• Priority areas of reform.
• Activities of the Public Administration and Governance Sectoral Working Group.

According to Stefan Schleuning, Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Ukraine, public administration reform is a fundamental element for joining the EU and is necessary for the implementation of Ukraine’s 2024-2027 Plan. On 30 October 2024, the European Commission published the 2024 Enlargement Package, including the second annual report on Ukraine. Strengthening the capacity of the public administration to rebuild, restore and join the EU will require accelerated civil service reform, including improvements to the remuneration system, the return and improvement of merit-based recruitment and selection processes for civil servants and their retention, and progress in the digitalisation of civil service management. These reforms, along with coordinated efforts by the Ukrainian government and its partners, are crucial for building Ukraine’s resilience in the face of current challenges.

At the end of the meeting, it was decided to take into account the data from the European Commission’s report on Ukraine’s progress in implementing public administration reform within the framework of the EU’s 2024 Enlargement Package in future work. The meeting also approved reports on the implementation in 2023 of the Public Administration Reform Strategy of Ukraine for 2022-2025 and the Public Finance Management System Reform Strategy for 2022-2025.