The team of the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development, headed by Oleksandr Kubrakov, with the participation of Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov, Head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Organization of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning Olena Shulyak, Head of the State Agency for Reconstruction and Infrastructure Projects Mustafa Nayem, Head of the State Inspectorate for Architecture and Urban Planning of Ukraine Oleksandr Novytskyi, Team Leader of the USAID/UK aid project "Transparency and Accountability in Public Administration and

 

The parties discussed the EU's involvement in Ukraine's reconstruction, improving transparency and accountability of the recovery process, in particular through the implementation of urban planning reform. According to Alexander Kubrakov, Ukraine is facing enormous challenges in rebuilding and needs to implement reforms as soon as possible to ensure transparency and accountability of reconstruction projects, create a fair market and competitive environment.

 

"We offer a systemic solution for reform - Law 5655. It enshrines digitalization and automation as the basic directions of change in the construction industry. The maximum elimination of the human factor and increased responsibility for illegal decisions will minimize corruption risks.

 

I am grateful to our European partners for the opportunity to discuss the recovery with European parliamentarians. It is important to hear that transparency and accountability are our common values in rebuilding Ukraine," said Kubrakov.

 

During the conversation, the effectiveness of the first stage of the urban planning reform - the introduction of an electronic state system in the field of construction with the support of the USAID/UK aid project "Transparency and Accountability in Public Administration and Services/TAPAS" - was noted. According to project analysts, the real anti-corruption effect of the digitalization of construction reaches UAH 1.5 billion a year, and the savings for the Ukrainian state are UAH 9.6 billion.

 

According to the European Commission's Director-General for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Herta Jan Koopman, he sincerely supports Ukraine's European integration intentions and the intention to reform the construction industry.

 

"We confirm the importance of digitisation and the fight against corruption while preserving decentralisation which contributes to good governance.

 

It is clear that a new and modern approach will be essential to address this unprecedented scale of challenges related to reconstruction. It would have to rely on a very good cooperation between different stakeholders locally and centrally, including authorities, private sector and NGOs.

 

We encourage all stakeholders to address important questions that are still raised by the draft law, both on substance and process," said Gert Jan Koopman, Director General for Neighborhood and Enlargement of the European Commission.

 

The parties also discussed support for Law 5655 among small and medium-sized communities in Ukraine that have begun partial recovery and need to implement digital accountability tools.