Minister of Ukraine, the Minister of regional develoment, construction, and housing and communal services, Volodymyr Groysman, the Government has approved the National strategy for regional development for the period until 2020. He says, that the Strategy was being developed by the Ministry of economic development of Ukraine (jointly with EU experts) since 2012, but until now it has not been adopted.

“Formation of the new regional policy became a priority for the new Government. After the final revisions by Mineconomdevelopment and Minregion, the strategy was presented to be considered by the Cabinet of Ministers and adopted”, Volodymyr Groysman noted.

He underlined, that absence of reqional policy, in fact, led to financial dependance, deep disproportions in development, and inefficient utilization of the regions’ potential.

 “The new strategy, particularly, provides for implementation of competitive advantage enhancement policy in the regions, which will be conducted with maximal utilization of local resources of each region, under respective support form the state. One of the top priorities is the development of Ukrainian cities, as the hubs of economic growth, as well as recovery of rural areas. And, in this context, the concept of autrhority decentralization, approved by the Government, is totally compliant with the needs of the Strategy”, he noted.

Volodymyr Groysman also informed the public on the policy of social equilazation, embedded in the Strategy, and providing the regions with equal opportunities in terms of public access to basic services (education, healthcare, information, transport, communication, market, and non-market (public) services).

Particularly, according to the Vice Prime Minister, it is intended to develop and implement (with the involvement of international support) the complex National target programme of restoration of peaceful life, stabilization of the situation, and economic development in Donetsk and Luganst oblasts.

Beside that, a set of political and diplomatic activities, targeted at returning of the temporarily occupied territory of the ARC and the city of Sebastopol under Ukrainian jurisdiction and souvereignty, and prevention of violation of Ukrainian citizens’ constitutional rights on this territory.

Volodymyr Groysman stresses that the new Strategy provides for creation of efficient state government mechanism in the field of regional development, which will function in conjunction with the policy of authority decentralization and formation of capable local self-government.

“The Strategy includes the basic principles of regional development of Ukraine, and, having adopted it, we are starting a serious work on preparation of the plan of action on its implementation, which, particularly, includes governmental support of strategic development projects in the regions, development of regional strategies, creation of a network of regional development agencies. The regions, in their turn, need to be ready to define and protect their own priorities”, the Vice Prime Minister underlined.

Volodymyr Groysman stated that adoption of the Strategy is one of the pre-conditions of getting a financial budgetary support of 55 million euro, targeted at regional development, from the European Union in 2015. He also expressed his hope for adoption by the parliament of the Law “On Principles of State Regional Policy”, which will provide the legislative basis for implementation of a new policy of regional development.