The Verkhovna Rada Committee on the Organisation of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning has recommended that Parliament include on its calendar and adopt as a basis Draft Law No. 15165, which aims to improve the legal framework for the activities of community self-organisation bodies.

This refers to the version of the legislative initiative submitted by MPs headed by Ruslan Stefanchuk. The document aims to improve the regulatory framework for the functioning of community self-organisation bodies – one of the key tools for engaging residents in addressing issues of local importance.

The context of European integration and the timeline

As Tamila Tasheva, Member of the Ukrainian Parliament and Chair of the Subcommittee on the Restoration of State Authority and Local Self-Government in the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol, emphasised during the presentation of the draft law, the document is directly linked to the fulfilment of Ukraine’s commitments in terms of European integration.

Specifically, it is provided for in the roadmap within the negotiation process for accession to the European Union (Cluster 1 ‘Foundations of the Accession Process’), with a deadline for implementation by the end of 2025.

Therefore, the adoption of this draft law is not only of domestic significance for the development of local democracy but is also part of the broader European integration process.

Broad expert analysis

The draft law was prepared on the basis of the previous version (No. 6319), taking into account proposals developed by the working group under the Committee. Around 80 participants were involved in its work – representatives of state authorities, local governments, associations of local governments, experts, and practitioners in community self-organisation.

‘This draft law has turned out to be fairly balanced. We have found the necessary solutions, some of which initially sparked debate, but we have nevertheless reached a resolution on them,’ stated Tamila Tasheva.

Stances of government bodies

Following the results of interdepartmental analysis, the draft law received a generally positive assessment from central executive bodies:

• The Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine and the Ministry for Veterans’ Affairs supported the document in its current version;
• The Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of the Interior and the State Migration Service did not raise any objections;
• The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Youth and Sport supported the draft law with certain comments, which may be taken into account before the second reading.

Meanwhile, the Main Scientific and Expert Directorate of the Verkhovna Rada Secretariat provided a number of conceptual and editorial comments, some of which are planned to be addressed in further work on the document.

Decision of the Committee

Following the consideration, the Committee decided to recommend to the Verkhovna Rada:

• to include Draft Law No. 15165 on the calendar of the 15th session;
• following the first reading, to adopt it as a basis for further preparation for the second reading.

Tamila Tasheva was appointed as the Committee’s co-rapporteur for the consideration of the matter in the chamber.