EU announces more than €100 million for Ukraine to support decentralisation reform and re-enforcement of local governance
Brussels, 7 December 2015
The European
Commission has adopted a major set of measures to support decentralisation
reform and re-enforcement of local governance in Ukraine.
The European Commission has adopted a major
set of measures to support decentralisation reform
and re-enforcement of local governance in Ukraine. A €97 million programme jointly funded by the EU (€90m), Germany (€6m)
and Poland (€1m) will strengthen governance and accountability at local, regional
and central levels to better respond to the needs of the population. An
additional support of €10 million funded by the Instrument contributing to
Stability and Peace will be allocated for the restoration of governance,
reconciliation and peacebuilding in the eastern part
of Ukraine, most affected by war and displacement.
"Ukraine
remains on the top of the EU's agenda. These programmes
will play an important role in supporting Ukraine in its efforts to improve
governance, including in the conflict-affected areas in the East", said the High Representative and
Commission Vice-President Federica
Mogherini.
"This
new, significant funding - adopted on the eve of the EU-Ukraine Association
Council - is a concrete example of the EU's continued and determined support
for reforms in Ukraine. The implementation of these reforms in the area of decentralisation will bring visible benefits to Ukrainian
citizens through access to a better service when dealing with their local or
regional administration'', stated Commissioner for the European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn.
Decentralisation is a top priority of the extensive reform
programme implemented by the Ukrainian government.
Important legislation was adopted in 2014 and 2015, providing a solid basis to
carry decentralisation reform forward, including more
responsibilities for the sub-national level in fiscal matters, investments and
services for citizens. If service delivery is to improve, and local government
to become more accountable to its citizens, the capacities of local community (hromada),
district (rayon)
and regional (oblast)
administrations will need to be strengthened and the administrative culture of
elected officials and public servants radically improved. Enhancing the
capacity of local government in eastern Ukraine to deliver improved services
will increase their legitimacy while also underpinning the overall framework of
decentralisation reform.
Background
The overall objective of the U-LEAD with Europe: Ukraine
Local Empowerment, Accountability and Development Programme is to
contribute to the establishment of multilevel governance which is transparent,
accountable and responsive to the needs of the population. The programme will include two
main components.
- the first is
intended to enhance the capacity of key actors at central, regional and local
levels in order to implement decentralisation reform;
- the second
component will focus on improving delivery of local administrative services.
The IcSP funded
action "Restoration
of Governance and Reconciliation in Crisis - Affected Communities of
Ukraine" will focus on strengthening local
governance in the areas of Donetsk and Luhansk
Oblasts that are under control of the government of Ukraine which face
particular challenges due to degraded administrative infrastructure and
increased pressure on social services. Enhanced community security and
re-building trust between communities and local government will receive special
attention alongside strong focus on equality and women’s participation
This measure is a further step in the
implementation of the European Commission's support
package for Ukraine. The Commission has already adopted a first
special measure for Ukraine in 2015 on sustainable economic development. The decentralisation programme is the
second adopted this year for Ukraine specifically, bringing total grant aid to
Ukraine in 2015 alone to €200 million. It is part of the commitments made that
the EU and European Financial Institutions would provide over €12 billion in
grants and loans to support Ukraine's macro-financial stabilisation
and reform process.
European Commission