Back on 10 June 2026, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the Public Administration Reform Strategy of Ukraine for 2026–2030 and the operational plan for its implementation.
The Strategy is directly devoted to public administration reform. At the same time, part of the changes it envisages concerns local self-government and territorial communities. This primarily relates to the future delineation of powers between the levels of public governance, further decentralization of administrative services, the development of the network of Administrative Service Centres (ASCs) and the application of the Law of Ukraine “On Administrative Procedure”.
Delineation of powers between the levels of public governance
For local self-government, the most systemic part of the Strategy concerns the delineation of powers between the levels of public governance.
The document envisages the introduction of such a delineation on the basis of defined principles and criteria, in particular the principle of subsidiarity, broken down by individual areas of public policy. The relevant approaches are to be applied across sectors, taking into account the results of the analysis carried out.
It is also envisaged that sectoral legislation will be brought into line with the defined model of the delineation of powers, and that this model will be applied in practice in the work of executive authorities and local self-government bodies.
At the same time, the Strategy does not establish exactly how specific powers will be distributed in individual areas. It defines the principles and the sequence of their further delineation.
The operational plan sets specific deadlines for this.
By Q3 2027, it is envisaged to ensure the application of the principles and criteria for the delineation of powers between the levels of public governance by areas of public policy within the defined spheres of competence of local self-government bodies.
The next step is the adoption and implementation of the relevant legislation. The operational plan provides that legislation on the delineation and distribution of powers between the levels of public governance is to enter into force by Q1 2028.
The body responsible for this area under the operational plan is the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine, together with other central executive authorities. The document was approved before the reorganization of the Government; today the relevant matters fall within the remit of the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Internally Displaced Persons of Ukraine.
Thus, it is precisely the decisions to be prepared in fulfilment of this task of the Strategy that are to specify the future distribution of powers in the relevant areas and ensure that it is enshrined in regulation.
Importantly, the Strategy itself links the delineation of functions with the resources and responsibility for their performance. This principle is also separately reflected in the assessment of the current system of administrative services.
As further noted, this complicates the consistent transfer of service-delivery powers to the level of local self-government bodies and leads to the overburdening of central executive authorities with operational functions that are atypical for them.
Decentralization of administrative services: what is planned to be transferred to communities
The tasks of the Strategy that are most specific for communities concern the further decentralization of administrative services.
The document envisages the legislative regulation of the delegation of priority administrative services to local self-government bodies and the integration of such services into the network of administrative service centres.
Among the services subject to decentralization, the Strategy directly names:
According to the logic of the document, this should facilitate the provision of comprehensive services related to the occurrence of life events, improve interaction between ASCs and service providers, increase the accessibility of the relevant registers and simplify citizens’ access to services.
The operational plan sets out specific legislative steps.
By Q1 2027, the Cabinet of Ministers is to approve and submit to the Verkhovna Rada a draft law on delegating to local self-government bodies the powers to provide administrative services in the field of state registration of civil status acts.
The bodies designated as responsible are the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine (following the reorganization of the Government, the relevant area falls under the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Internally Displaced Persons of Ukraine) and the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
Within the same deadline, a draft law on delegating to local self-government bodies powers in the field of administrative services of a social nature is to be approved and submitted to the Verkhovna Rada.
The Strategy also establishes targets for the performance of these delegated powers.
By 2028, 70% of local self-government bodies are to ensure the performance of delegated powers regarding the state registration of civil status acts, and 65% – regarding administrative services of a social nature.
By 2030, these indicators are to reach 90% and 80% respectively.
Targets for citizen satisfaction with administrative services have been defined separately. For offline services, the indicator is to grow from the baseline of 73% to 80% in 2028 and 90% in 2030. For online services – from 85% to 88% and 90% respectively.
Consequently, the institutional capacity of territorial communities is directly identified as one of the factors to be taken into account in the course of the further decentralization of administrative services.
At the same time, the ASC network is to be developed. Starting from 2027, the Ministry of Digital Transformation is to carry out an annual analysis of its further development with a view to ensuring the accessibility of administrative services, and to submit a corresponding analytical report with proposals to the Cabinet of Ministers.
Thus, in the Strategy the decentralization of individual administrative services, their integration into the ASC network and the further development of the network itself are regarded as interrelated tasks.
Administrative procedure: the readiness of local self-government bodies remains low so far
Another area of the Strategy that directly concerns local self-government bodies is the consistent introduction and application of the Law of Ukraine “On Administrative Procedure”.
The survey results presented in the document indicate that readiness for its practical application so far remains low both at the local and at the central level.
Among the main difficulties, the Strategy names the need to change established administrative practices, the inconsistency of certain special laws with the provisions of the Law “On Administrative Procedure”, as well as the lack of practical understanding and knowledge regarding its application in everyday work.
The Strategy envisages the consistent introduction and application of this Law, and administrative procedures are to be applied “consistently and predictably regardless of the body, level of government or form in which the service is received”.
For local self-government bodies, this concerns not only the direct provision of administrative services. It is about applying the administrative procedures established by law in those cases where local self-government bodies adopt administrative acts and interact with citizens and business.
Therefore, the practical substance of the changes envisaged by the Strategy for communities will largely be determined by the Government’s subsequent decisions and legislative changes – above all, by how specific powers will be delineated between the levels of public governance and how the principle of alignment of functions, resources and responsibility embedded in the Strategy will be implemented in doing so.
Source: https://decentralization.ua
