In a very short time, Ukraine has followed the path that other countries have been following for decades, and today much remains to be done to make every citizen feel the results of the reform of the administrative-territorial system. This was stated by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal during a meeting of the Communities and Territories Development Council, which took place with the participation of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy on February 25 within the All-Ukrainian Forum "Ukraine 30".

In a statement, the President of Ukraine noted that all government officials are united by one employer - the citizens of Ukraine. And their standard of living, safety, health, education, comfort, well-being and other important things, he said, depends on the level of interaction between the authorities.

"Especially when the decentralization reform is finally not imitated, but actually implemented – it is efficient and yields a result. One of the proofs of that is the official resolution of our European partners, which call to study our experience and disseminate it in other countries," said President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

For his part, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal also stressed that the reform of local self-government and territorial organization of power in Ukraine is recognized as one of the most successful in Ukrainian society, according to research by sociological companies.

"We continue to move towards completing this reform. I am confident that synergy and cooperation between all government officials will create the relevant mechanisms and documents that will be positively perceived by the people," said the Prime Minister.

Denys Shmyhal stressed the need to prolong work to improve the provision of public services to citizens so that they become more accessible and faster. In particular, according to him, this year the Government should complete the implementation of the paperless government initiative of the President of Ukraine, ie "paperless management".

"In addition, the availability of public services is also implemented through the CASP, of which there are already almost 900 in Ukraine. Every community must have such centers, so we must implement this task together, joining our efforts," said the Prime Minister.

According to the Head of Government, a new territorial basis has been formed in Ukraine. And for the mechanisms of democracy on the ground to start working at full capacity, a number of such steps still need to be taken:

- complete decentralization of powers on the principles of subsidiarity;

- to ensure the effective redistribution of powers between local governments and executive authorities at different territorial levels;

- to synchronize the network of territorial bodies of central executive bodies with the new administrative-territorial structure;

- modernize the service in local governments;

- to settle the issue of communal property.

"The reform of the administrative-territorial system concerns apart from additional opportunities, also the strengthening of responsibility for organizing the welfare of citizens on the ground. The financial and managerial opportunities provided by the reform have enabled communities to successfully implement local initiatives, and more and more communities continue to unleash their potential. Now, as part of decentralization, it is necessary to strengthen cooperation between public authorities and local self-government," summarized the Prime Minister.