The Open Society Foundations and its foundation in Ukraine, the International Renaissance Foundation (IRF), launched a process on Monday to create a National Reform Council and help Ukraine move forward with reforms
The Open Society Foundations and its foundation in Ukraine, the International Renaissance Foundation (IRF), launched a process on Monday to create a National Reform Council and help Ukraine move forward with reforms.
This took place against the backdrop of the crisis over Flight MH17 and the ongoing conflict in the east of the country. It also followed a weekend meeting of state representatives (the Presidential administration, the Cabinet, including the Cabinet Minister and the Ministers of Economy, Health, Culture and Regional Development, and the National Bank of Ukraine), think-tanks, civil society, and international donors. The group, made up primarily of Ukrainians, including expatriates, discussed reform priorities such as good governance, anti-corruption, law enforcement and macroeconomic development across a range of sectors including energy, infrastructure, finance, health and education.
Participants agreed that the reform process should be strengthened and considered best practices for the implementation of comprehensive reforms, drawing also from experiences at the regional level. Former high-ranking officials from Georgia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia shared their experience of implementing sustainable reforms.
Together with the government, the group considered options for forming a new council to help coordinate the reform process and make it more effective. The Open Society Foundations and the IRF have supported the creation of Strategic Advisory Groups (SAG) comprised of independent experts who can advise on reform in several ministries. Oleksandr Sushko, Board Chair of the IRF, and Alex Pivovarsky, Senior Adviser for Corporate Strategy at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), currently co-chair the SAG Steering Committee.
At the meeting, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration, Dmytro Shymkiv, called on civil society, businesses, international donors and political allies to contribute to the creation of the new council.
The Minister of Economical Development and Trade of Ukraine, Pavlo Sheremeta expressed the government’s support for the establishment of a National Reform Council under the auspices of the senior leadership of Ukraine.
International donors outlined how they plan to support the reform process and provide technical assistance.
For more information on the event and the Open Society Foundations’ support for reform in Ukraine, please contact Stanislav Liachinskiy, liachinskiy@irf.ua, +380952768992.
