The European Committee of the Regions has set up a political Task Force for Ukraine to advise on the administrative reform and its implementation, as well as to share experiences of territorial cohesion and multi-level governance instruments. The Task Force has been created following the discussion between the COR members and the speaker of Ukrainian Parliament, Volodymyr Hroysman during a recent COR Plenary Session and includes CoR President Markku Markkula and EPP Group President, Michael Schneider.
Speaking at a meeting with President Markkula in Brussels on Tuesday, Volodymyr Hroysman said:
"The CoR can provide a valuable contribution to boost cooperation among local authorities and communities."
The EPP Group is convinced that a territorial dimension of the European Neighbourhood Policy is needed and this Task Force will complement the work that is already being done with Ukrainian cities and regions via the Conference of Regional and Local Authorities for the Eastern Partnership (CORLEAP).
Also on Tuesday, the CoRs' Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs (CIVEX) held a discussion on the decentralisation reform process and the needs of Ukrainian local and regional authorities with Vachyslav Nehoda, Deputy Minister, Ministry for Regional Development of Ukraine, Serhiy Chernov , Head of the Kharkiv Regional Council, Head of the Ukrainian Delegation to CORLEAP, Oleksiy Goncharenko, People's Deputy (MP) of Ukraine, Secretary of the Parliamentary Committee on State Building, Regional Policy and Local Self-Government, Ulrike Hauer, Team Leader Political Process, Support Group for Ukraine, European Commission.
The participants agreed that decentralisation is a key element in the ongoing constitutional reform in Ukraine, but that it needs to be accompanied by sufficient financial resources and trained staff.