Since the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU was launched in full in September 2017, a number of reforms have been accelerated in Ukraine aimed to promote the European integration of the country. Most of these reforms are listed in this Agreement which is named by Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze as “one of the most comprehensive and ambitious documents in the history of Ukraine”.

However, there is one important reform which is not explicitly mentioned in the Agreement but still brings Ukraine closer to Europe – this is decentralisation.

The process of radical changes in the system of local self-government is to a significant extent based on the experience of the EU countries which are considered as a kind of “Euro-pattern” for the Ukrainians. Dozens of international programs, internships, and experience exchange events help new hromadas learn self-government.