The Verkhovna Rada is planning to consider a draft law on international cooperation of hromadas: what is envisaged
Kyiv • UNN
The draft law No. 9450 on international territorial cooperation was updated with several important changes, including expanding its scope to cover more territories, dividing cooperation into inter-territorial, cross-border and transnational, prohibiting cooperation with the aggressor state, allowing district councils and heads of military administrations to initiate cooperation, providing a clear algorithm for implementing joint projects funded by the EU, and introducing a detailed procedure for approving cooperation agreements.
The Verkhovna Rada is planning to consider draft law No. 9450 on international cooperation of local self-government, which was voted in the first reading, at one of its upcoming sessions. Vitaliy Bezgin, MP and chairman of the Subcommittee on Administrative and Territorial Structure and Local Self-Government, told about the changes that have been made to the second reading, UNN reports.
Details
According to the MP, the draft law has several important innovations.
First, the name and area of influence have changed. Now the project will cover even more territory and will be called "On International Territorial Cooperation.
Second, such cooperation will be divided into inter-territorial, cross-border, and transnational.
The innovations also provide for a ban on inter-territorial cooperation with the aggressor state.
District councils, among others, will now become subjects of cooperation. They will be able to initiate cooperation, launch projects in subregions, and so on. And the heads of military administrations will be able to initiate cooperation if such a military administration is granted self-governing powers by the parliament.
"Draft law 9450 is about the systematic implementation of joint projects funded by EU funds, in particular, it provides a clear algorithm of actions for communities/districts/regions to work with international partners, from finding an international partner to implement a joint project to signing an agreement and implementing the project," Bezghin noted.
According to him, the updated draft also describes in detail the algorithm for approving a draft cooperation agreement by the Ministry of Infrastructure, including clear deadlines, restrictions on arbitrary non-approval of projects, etc.
