Information on the thesis

The necessity to bring national legislation in the line with the European norms and standards logically follows from the objectives of Ukraine’s course towards integration with the EU. The aim of the work is to determine the content of European standards of local self-government in terms of their democratic potential, to identify mechanisms for their implementation in the national legislation of Ukraine and the practice of providing services to the population by local governments under decentralization.

In accordance with the set goal, the content of modern conceptual models (theories) of local self-government in the context of European standards and practices of democratic governance has been defined, the methodological principles of studying the role of European standards in decentralization of the power have been substantiated, the state of scientific development of the problem of implementation of European standards in the activities of local governments in Ukraine in the context of democratic transformation has been determined in the dissertation.

The analysis and systematization of the conceptual apparatus of  the research, in particular such concepts as «international legal standards», «European standards of local self-government», «international standards of regional self-government», etc. has been carried out. The fundamental difference between the concepts of «good administration» and «good governance» has been revealed.

The content of the European Charter of Local Self-Government and the compliance of its provisions in the practice of local self-government in Ukraine has been revealed, institutional structure and mechanisms of implementation of European standards of local self-government in Ukraine has been clarified in the dissertation. It has been noted that the adoption in 2014 of the Concept of reforming local self-government and territorial organization of power in Ukraine was a real breakthrough in the implementation of the policy of reforming the system of organization of public power in Ukraine. The implementation of the guidelines of European institutions on decentralization of power in Ukraine is carried out in many areas with the help of international and domestic institutions, agencies and organizations. The Decentralization and Reform of Local Self-Government in Ukraine program is being implemented within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine for 2018–2021.

Ukraine’s interstate relations in the field of implementation of international and European standards of local self-government are based on a set of current legal norms that, without violating national interests, meet European standards and the country’s international obligations. At the same time, Ukraine is creating appropriate institutions to adapt domestic legislation to the EU requirements and standards.

The directions of the European standards implementation in the branch of administrative services at the local level have been described (on the example of Lutsk City Council). It has been proved that the implementation of European norms and practices of administrative services in Lutsk takes place in organic unity with the processes of decentralization, which follows from the guidelines of the European Charter of Local Self-Government and other program documents of the Council of Europe.

Key words: local self-government, European standards of local self-government, decentralization, Ukraine, European Union, Lutsk City Council.