Parliament passes law on state regional policy basis

The Ukrainian parliament during a session on Thursday passed a law on the basis of state regional policy with 254 supporting votes.

The law defines key legal, economic, social, ecological, humanitarian and organization basis for state regional policy, as an element of the internal policy of Ukraine.

"The draft law is called to ensure the development of regional strategies via financing, including using the funds of the European Union. It is very important. It creates absolutely open and public mechanisms on the realization of regional strategies in each region of Ukraine," Speaker Volodymyr Hroisman said before voting.

According to the law, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approves the state strategy for regional development, defines a procedure for preparing, assessing and selecting programs and projects which could be realized using funds from the national budget, and approves a list of the programs.

In turn, regional councils initiate, draw up and approve regional development strategies and action plans. Regional councils can also draw up regional development program and projects.

In addition, the government can create an interagency coordination commission for regional development as a temporary consolatory agency. Regional councils can create regional development agencies. Agencies cannot be budget-funded, it must be a non-profit-making organization created on the basis of partnership between the state, private and public sectors of the organization and employers.

The law also states that the sources of financing for state regional policy can be budget funds, in particular, funds from the State Regional Development Fund, local budgets, charitable contributions and international organization funds.

According to the law regions are regions, the Crimean Autonomous Republic, Kyiv city and Sevastopol city. The macro-region notion (the integration of several regions) and the micro-region notion (a part of a region) were introduced.