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January 11, the parliament conducted Committee Hearings to discuss the legal status of complicated territorial units (so-called “matryoshka”-dolls). The Hearings were conducted upon the initiative of the Association of Ukrainian Cities.

The Committee organised the Hearings together with the Council of Europe Strengthening Local DEMOCRACY AND Support to Local Self-Governance Reform in Ukraine Programme with the participation of the ministry of Regional Development. The event was supported by the DESPRO and PDPII Projects.

The participants of the Hearings were the following: National Deputies, representatives of the Cabinet of Ministers and presidential Administration, city mayors and local council members, and local and international experts.

The majority of the participants supported the AUC opinion about the necessity of Administrative and Territorial Reform and making the appropriate amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine.

O.Omelchenko, the Committee Chairman, shares the opinion thatin the nearest future it will be impossible to make such changes, therefore the Committee should develop recommendations on how to resolve the issues of the territorial communities of the villages, towns and cities embedded in larger territorial communities. To this end, the participants came to a decision to set up a special working group under the Committee. AUC AnalyticalCenterexperts working within the framework of the DIALOGUE Project will participate in the preparation of proposals.