c+Territorial+Politics


 * Changes in the Constitution: **

> > *There is already an opportunity to participate in European security talks //"In parallel, the WEU Assembly has built strong working links with Ukraine's Rada . Delegations of Ukrainian parliamentary observers are regularly invited to plenary sessions"//(http://www.assembly-weu.org/en/documents/sessions_ordinaires/rpt/2005/1895.php#P145_17992) Relevant parts of the current constitution: Chapter IX Territorial Structure of Ukraine **
 * The Ukraine should become a federal state. Decentralization is a trend that is favored by many countries and it often produces better solutions for specific regions of a country (e.g. Kerala in India). I am not sure however, how this can work out in the Ukraine. Implementing a lot of small government institutions in a country with high corruption is very problematic as we see in countries like Brazil and Mexico. Hence, there should be a movement of responsibility away from the highest central and lowest decentral political organs to a federal level. This would also be more efficient than many small governments of villages as described in Chapter XI.
 * Local self government has to be refined in its details, especially regarding the problem with corruption. There should be regular opportunities for small regions to express their opinions and concerns, but it might be better to have people to deal with it (obligatory) that are more independent from the single regions.
 * The autonomous republic of Crimea should become a normal region or at the most get a special right like Kyiv and Sevastopol.It seems disadvantageous in such a divided country to have such a small region with completely seperate governmental institutions, especially as their work can be disrupted or declared void by the Ukrainian president anyway. However the historical and ethnical implications for this special status (majority in Crimea is Russian), I think the Ukraine has to move on to a more wholistic model if it wants to become a functioning, modern democracy. Chapter 10 should be excluded from the constitution in favor of a clearer structure of local government in the former Chapter XI. Instead there could be a section on local integration of secluded areas. It can be made valid only for a limited time until the cohesion in Ukraine allows for a more stable democracy.
 * Due to the Ukraine's important geopolitical positon there should be a state agency soley for territorial matters. It should be independent from the governments and have a consulting function internally such as a voice in external assemblies*. This is a long term measure even if the Ukraine joins the EU, because its strategic position will not be diminished, but even enhanced due to its closeness to Russia. I also think this is a viable option to put into the constitution because it has been very detailed regarding competencies before and seems to matter a lot to the people.


 * Article 132 **
 * The territorial structure of Ukraine is based on the principles of unity and indivisibility of the state territory, the combination of centralisation and decentralisation in the exercise of state power, and the balanced socio-economic development of r egions that takes into account their historical, economic, ecological, geographical and demographic characteristics, and ethnic and cultural traditions.
 * Article 133 **
 * The system of the administrative and territorial structure of Ukraine is composed of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, oblasts, districts, cities, city districts, settlements and villages.
 * Ukraine is composed of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Vinnytsia Oblast, Volyn Oblast, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Donetsk Oblast, Zhytomyr Oblast, Zakarpattia Oblast, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Kyiv Oblast, Kirovohrad Oblast, Luhansk Ob last, Lviv Oblast, Mykolaiv Oblast, Odesa Oblast, Poltava Oblast, Rivne Oblast, Sumy Oblast, Ternopil Oblast, Kharkiv Oblast, Kherson Oblast, Khmelnytskyi Oblast, Cherkasy Oblast, Chernivtsi Oblast and Chernihiv Oblast, and the Cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol.
 * The Cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol have special status that is determined by the laws of Ukraine.

The Autonomous Republic of Crimea
 * Chapter X

Chapter XI Local Self-Government **


 * Article 140 **
 * Local self-government is the right of a territorial community — residents of a village or a voluntary association of residents of several villages into one village community, residents of a settlement, and of a city — to independently resolve issues o f local character within the limits of the Constitution and the laws of Ukraine.
 * Particular aspects of the exercise of local self-government in the Cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol are determined by special laws of Ukraine.
 * Local self-government is exercised by a territorial community by the procedure established by law, both directly and through bodies of local self-government: village, settlement and city councils, and their executive bodies.
 * District and oblast councils are bodies of local self-government that represent the common interests of territorial communities of villages, settlements and cities.
 * The issue of organisation of the administration of city districts lies within the competence of city councils.
 * Village, settlement and city councils may permit, upon the initiative of residents, the creation of house, street, block and other bodies of popular self-organisation, and to assign them part of their own competence, finances and property.
 * Article 141 **
 * A village, settlement and city council is composed of deputies elected for a four-year term by residents of a village, settlement and city on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage, by secret ballot.
 * Territorial communities elect for a four-year-term on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage, by secret ballot, the head of the village, settlement and city, respectively, who leads the executive body of the council and presides at its meet ings.
 * The status of heads, deputies and executive bodies of a council and their authority, the procedure for their establishment, reorganisation and liquidation, are determined by law.
 * The chairman of a district council and the chairman of an oblast council are elected by the respective council and lead the executive staff of the council.
 * Article 142 **
 * The material and financial basis for local self-government is movable and immovable property, revenues of local budgets, other funds, land, natural resources owned by territorial communities of villages, settlements, cities, city districts, and also o bjects of their common property that are managed by district and oblast councils.
 * On the basis of agreement, territorial communities of villages, settlements and cities may join objects of communal property as well as budget funds, to implement joint projects or to jointly finance (maintain) communal enterprises, organisations and establishments, and create appropriate bodies and services for this purpose.
 * The State participates in the formation of revenues of the budget of local self-government and financially supports local self-government. Expenditures of bodies of local self-government, that arise from the decisions of bodies of state power, are co mpensated by the state.
 * Article 143 **
 * Territorial communities of a village, settlement and city, directly or through the bodies of local self-government established by them, manage the property that is in communal ownership; approve programmes of socio-economic and cultural development, a nd control their implementation; approve budgets of the respective administrative and territorial units, and control their implementation; establish local taxes and levies in accordance with the law; ensure the holding of local referendums and the impleme ntation of their results; establish, reorganise and liquidate communal enterprises, organisations and institutions, and also exercise control over their activity; resolve other issues of local importance ascribed to their competence by law.
 * Oblast and district councils approve programmes for socio-economic and cultural development of the respective oblasts and districts, and control their implementation; approve district and oblast budgets that are formed from the funds of the state budg et for their appropriate distribution among territorial communities or for the implementation of joint projects, and from the funds drawn on the basis of agreement from local budgets for the realisation of joint socio-economic and cultural programmes, and control their implementation; resolve other issues ascribed to their competence by law.
 * Certain powers of bodies of executive power may be assigned by law to bodies of local self-government. The State finances the exercise of these powers from the State Budget of Ukraine in full or through the allocation of certain national taxes to the local budget, by the procedure established by law, transfers the relevant objects of state property to bodies of local self-government.
 * Bodies of local self-government, on issues of their exercise of powers of bodies of executive power, are under the control of the respective bodies of executive power.
 * Article 144 **
 * Bodies of local self-government, within the limits of authority determined by law, adopt decisions that are mandatory for execution throughout the respective territory.
 * Decisions of bodies of local self-government, for reasons of nonconformity with the Constitution or the laws of Ukraine, are suspended by the procedure established by law with a simultaneous appeal to a court.
 * Article 145 **
 * The rights of local self-government are protected by judicial procedure.
 * Article 146 **
 * Other issues of the organisation of local self-government, the formation, operation and responsibility of the bodies of local self-government, are determined by law.

=**General Information by** CIA Factbook:=

Eastern Europe bordering the Black Sea, between Poland, Romania, and Moldova in the west and Russia in the east strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and Asia; second-largest country in Europe
 * Location:**

total: 603,550 sq km (slightly smaller than Texas, country comparison to the world: 45)
 * Area:**

Belarus Hungary Moldova Poland Romania (south and southwest) Russia Slovakia
 * Border countries:**


 * Disputes - international:**
 * Belarus:** 1997 boundary delimitation treaty with Belarus remains un-ratified due to unresolved financial claims, stalling demarcation and reducing border security;
 * Russia:** delimitation of land boundary with Russia is complete with preparations for demarcation underway; the dispute over the boundary between Russia and Ukraine through the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov remains unresolved despite a December 2003 framework agreement and ongoing expert-level discussions;
 * Moldova:** operate joint customs posts to monitor transit of people and commodities through Moldova's break-away Transnistria Region, which remains under OSCE supervision; the ICJ gave Ukraine until December 2006 to reply, and Romania until June 2007 to rejoin, in their dispute submitted in 2004 over Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy/Serpilor (Snake) Island and Black Sea maritime boundary;
 * Romania:** opposes Ukraine's reopening of a navigation canal from the Danube border through Ukraine to the Black Sea

=**Articles:**=

1) http://www.bmlv.gv.at/pdf_pool/publikationen/ukraine_zerissen_zw_ost_u_west_m_malek_ukraines_border_t_zhurzhenko.pdf

An interesting article on the east-west conflict of the Ukraine that points out that the geopolitical status might pose a greater problem than tensions within the country.Written by the Austrian army ;-)! (which has mainly civil tasks like assistance for municipalities in floods).

2) http://www.assembly-weu.org/en/documents/sessions_ordinaires/rpt/2005/1895.php

Another document by the Western European Union - an assembly that supports intergovernmental activities in Europe regarding security and defense.