© Verkhovna Rada/Telegram The parliamentary vote for the second reading is slated for Tuesday, November 4.
On Monday, the Subcommittee on Administrative and Territorial Structure of the Verkhovna Rada endorsed bill No. 14048 “Regarding Adjustments to Specific Legal Acts of Ukraine Concerning the Assurance of Legitimacy and Openness in the Operations of Local Self-Government Institutions”, suggesting its passage for a second reading. As indicated in his Facebook announcement by the leader of the relevant subcommittee, Vitaliy Bezgin, during the subcommittee’s deliberation, one modification was accepted, and 2,416 amendments were turned down.
He specified that the representatives took into account the viewpoint of local administrations that oversight must be executed specifically under assigned authorities . They also considered the perspective of the European Commission, suggesting the matter of the personnel pool should be addressed not within this bill, but rather within the legislation overseeing civil service. These provisions were taken out.
The version backed by the subcommittee will be regarded as fulfilling the Ukraine Facility benchmark if it gains endorsement from the Verkhovna Rada during the second reading.
In remarks to ZN.UA, Vitaliy Bezgin underlined that a “tenuous agreement” has now materialized concerning the implementation of oversight on the legality of local government rulings.
“The subcommittee ratified draft law No. 14048 in the form that secured backing from three associations (UAROR, AMU, AOTG). Two alterations were implemented in comparison to the initial reading: monitoring is centered on delegated authorities, the staffing reserve was omitted from the body of the legislative act . We engaged in prior dialogue with the European Commission concerning such wording, and it met their approval. With respect to the personnel pool, these were primarily their recommendations. We have draft law No. 13478-1 pertaining to civil service competitions, as well as the Ukraine Facility, making it highly probable that these standards can be transferred there,” the head of the subcommittee elucidated.
The Association of Ukrainian Cities expressed that they are in favor of draft law No. 14048 in a configuration that will guarantee the suitability of monitoring and synchronization of regulatory and supervisory bodies at the local level.
Its executive director, Oleksandr Slobozhan, articulated at the committee session that it is paramount to endorse draft law No. 14048 as fashioned by the subcommittee to satisfy the relevant Ukraine Facility indicator and persist with the decentralization initiative , notably by executing the indispensable segregation of powers between executive entities and local self-government institutions in terms of defining their individual and assigned mandates of self-governance.
Currently, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on the Organization of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning has sanctioned Bill No. 14048 for the second reading.
Concurrently, a member of the corresponding committee, People's Deputy of Ukraine Roman Lozynsky, conveyed in my Facebook message that the committee gave its support to the proposed legislation in a manner that can solely be portrayed as “Oversight without supervision.”
“The draft law #14048 in the wording put forth by the committee is self-defeating during Ukraine's extended campaign toward the European Union… The representatives of the Servant of the People party and the Association of Ukrainian Cities intentionally extracted from the prospective law the regulations regarding oversight of the bulk (exceeding 90%) of resolutions from local councils … Essentially, circumstances are being established for “oversight without supervision” – an avenue to feudalism and corruption on the grassroots level, which seemingly benefits the authorities,” the deputy remarked.
He clarifies that the initial iteration of this bill encompassed scrutiny over the validity of all determinations (delegated and individual) . In parallel, according to the MP, solely one amendment was taken into account for the second reading, the gist of which is not to broaden scrutiny to encompass independent authorities, constituting upwards of 90% of all verdicts rendered by local councils .
“ In effect, the assorted “Toilet Schemes” of Kyiv will persist in dwelling within the “gray area” of the law. There will be no protective measure in place for them — a mechanism for addressing such transgressions and nullifying them through non-judicial means . The modification in the stance of the Association of Ukrainian Cities (headed by Kyiv Mayor Klitschko), which endorsed preceding versions of the draft laws stipulating supervision of “its own” authorities, is especially telling. However, the AMU abruptly reversed its position by 180 degrees in February 2025 — precisely after NABU exposed a criminal organization within the Kyiv City Council linked to the misappropriation of the capital’s territory,” writes Roman Lozynsky.
With this judgment, he posits, the deputies not only disregard the imperative to deploy instruments “to halt local feudalism”, but also directly infringe upon international commitments concerning the Ukraine Facility .
“The monomajority effectively aims to “peddle empty promises” to our European allies, vowing a reform that will remain unfulfilled. Does anyone genuinely believe that European partners will refrain from inquiring, “What transpired? Why did you proceed in this manner?” I am vehemently opposed to such a perversion of the oversight system. Consequently, I suggested considering the amendment to exclude clauses that restrict the purview of supervision solely to delegated authorities. We require a tool to counteract questionable and perilous actions by local governments,” the deputy declares.
We remind you that the editor of the domestic policy department of ZN.UA Inna Vedernikova engaged with specialists, originators of draft laws, representatives from the relevant committee and ministry, the AMU, alongside the supervisor of the President's Office division concerning alternative draft laws pertaining to state oversight of local self-government institutions and overhaul of the territorial authority framework. Peruse further details on this in the article “Oversight of local self-government bodies. System reform or formality for EU money?”.
