Oleksiy Chernyshov, Minister of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine, believes that amendments to the Constitution regarding decentralization will be adopted in 2021.

"Indeed, in order to complete this stage of reform, we need to amend the Constitution. A special working group at the President's Office is working on this, and I am a member of it. Therefore, this year, such changes are also planned. Our plan is to pass everything this year: two laws and changes to the Constitution. After that, it will already be possible to talk about the adoption of the law 'On prefects' and about the discussion of the need for the law 'On the capital,'" said Chernyshov in an exclusive interview with the Interfax-Ukraine agency.

As for other legislative acts that are necessary for the implementation of the decentralization reform, in particular, "On local state administrations" and "On local self-government", the minister noted that the adoption of new versions of these two laws will ensure the final settlement of all issues, in particular, powers in places.

"It should take place soon. On our part, the bills have been developed, discussed, and appropriate consultations and hearings with local government bodies and specialized associations have passed. This year, all these issues should be closed," said Chernyshov.

As reported, on March 12, chairman of the Servant of the People party Oleksandr Korniyenko said that the Verkhovna Rada expects that President Volodymyr Zelensky will soon submit a bill on amendments to the Constitution in terms of decentralization.