On the sidelines of the Carpathian Summit, Minister for Communities, Territories and Internally Displaced Persons Vitalii Bezghin met one of our long-standing partners in local self-government — Mathieu Mori, Secretary General of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine.

“Mathieu and I have known each other for several years and have met repeatedly at international events. This time we spoke in my new capacity as minister. I outlined Minregion’s priorities. One of the key priorities is the division of powers, which is part of our commitments under the Ukraine Plan. Here we are counting on the Congress’s expertise so that the next decisions meet European standards while also working in Ukrainian conditions,” Vitalii Bezghin said.

We also discussed communities’ institutional capacity, the future of local governance in liberated territories and agglomerations. On the latter, our position is to test the model in a pilot format first and then move towards legislative regulation based on practical experience.

We also discussed involving Ukrainian youth in the Congress’s activities and work on the new four-year Action Plan of the Council of Europe for Ukraine.

“I thank the Congress and Mathieu Mori personally for their many years of support for Ukrainian local self-government,” Vitalii Bezghin emphasised.