“The Congress welcomes the Ukraine’s government new resolution to revamp the Decentralisation Reform Concept. This is a strong step towards advancing this fundamental reform and achieving a balanced multilevel governance system in Ukraine. We are proud to have helped Ukraine to prepare and to consult widely this strategic document, the reform pace should be continued,” stressed President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe Marc Cools reflecting on the decision taken by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on 12 December 2025.

The new resolution complements the basic reform document – the Concept of 2014 – by adapting its implementation in view of the progress achieved by 2022, the current EU integration process, and wartime challenges.

Following the joint declaration of the High Level Dialogue on good democratic governance in Ukraine, which was signed in July 2024, and building on the recommendations set out in the Council of Europe’s Policy Advice report (CEMG/PAD(2024)6), the Centre of Expertise for Multilevel Governance (CEMG) at the Congress since December 2024 has supported the Ministry for Development of Communities in elaborating this document, including:

• providing expert advice and facilitating negotiations among key national stakeholders,
• carrying out public consultations on the draft between August and October 2025, including three dedicated regional meetings in  Odesa, Poltava and Lviv and the final presentation in Kyiv.

“New challenges require updated tools and approaches. Since the decentralisation reform continues, it remains our priority,” emphasised Deputy Prime Minister for the Restoration of Ukraine - Minister for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine, Oleksii Kuleba.

In response to a request from the government, the Council of Europe will further help the ministry in designing an Action Plan to fulfill the updated Concept, defining specific actions, deadlines and responsible parties. This work will be facilitated by the CEMG at the Congress in 2026, in consultation with all the main Ukrainian and international stakeholders, via the project “Strengthening multilevel governance and local democracy to support Ukraine's recovery”, implemented within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” for 2023-2026.