Viacheslav Nehoda, Deputy Minister for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine, took part in the 16th plenary meeting of the European Committee on Democracy and Governance (CDDG), held in Strasbourg, France.

The Deputy Minister informed the participants about functioning of local self-government in Ukraine under martial law. In particular, he stressed that due to the decentralization reform, which was aimed at creating capable communities, local self-government bodies were able to solve complex tasks and organize territorial defense of their communities in the conditions of war.

“Supporting the functioning of local self-government in wartime has become a priority state policy of the central authorities. The Government and the Parliament are continuously working to centrally assist local self-government bodies in solving complex tasks to ensure the vital functioning of communities in terms of: financing social and other expenditures in a situation where community’s economy does not perform as it did before the war; rapid assessment of material damage and provision of budget support for reconstruction in the liberated territories; provision of social support for millions of internally displaced persons,” said Viacheslav Nehoda.

According to him, in order to continue and complete decentralization in Ukraine, taking into account the consequences caused by the armed invasion of russia, as well as to implement comprehensive measures on improving legislation and practices in the field of Local Self-Government, as provided by the Plan for the Recovery of Ukraine from the War, it is important to ensure comprehensive support of international partners, primarily the Council of Europe.

The Deputy Minister underlined the importance of further continuous support of Ukraine in the framework of the instrument of cooperation between Ukraine and the Council of Europe, namely the next Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine. “We hope for its speedy approval and, accordingly, continuation of the practice of successful cooperation, in particular in the context of implementation of the Council of Europe Project titled “Enhancing decentralization and public administration reform in Ukraine,” he said.

It is worth reminding that the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine, responding to numerous appeals of local self-government bodies to the Government, has developed a draft law on resumption of land tax payment and granting local self-government bodies the right to independently make decisions on provision of relevant tax benefits.