Ukraine highly appreciates the support of its international partners. Despite the difficult times, we have achieved a powerful result together - the European Commission has officially announced the opening of several negotiation clusters with Ukraine in the near future. One of them, the EU Accession Process Fundamentals, is the most important in the negotiation process. Public administration reform, particularly public service reform, is part of it. This was stated by Nataliia Aliushyna, Head of the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service, at the opening of the annual Partners Forum 2024. 

The Head of the Agency noted that the responsibility for the public service reform lies with the Ukrainian government team. Still, Ukraine counts on the support of technical assistance projects in implementing European integration reforms.

Nataliia Aliushyna said that systematic cooperation with international partners is necessary to develop priority areas of cooperation. She announced the key areas for the NAUCS to attract donor assistance in the following areas, including the implementation of the public administration reform roadmap by the principles of the SIGMA Programm, expert support in improving the legislation of Ukraine on civil service and service in local self-government bodies, learning English by civil servants and assistance in attracting veterans to public service.

Among other topics, Nataliia Aliushyna noted the implementation of barrier-free principles, preparation for the resumption of competitions for civil service positions, modernisation of the Unified Portal of Civil Service Vacancies, continuation of the reform of the civil servants' remuneration system based on the classification of positions, and development of the information system “System of Strategic Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Based on the Principles of Results-Based Management” (Project.ua).

Specific areas for cooperation include the development and implementation of professional development programs on several issues, including training for specialists involved in planning, coordinating, monitoring and reporting on the implementation of Ukraine's commitments in the field of European integration and specialists involved in the EU accession negotiations, training of trainers on European integration, etc. 

Nataliіa Alіyushyna named some public events that will be organised next year with the support of international partners. These include the annual Richelieu Forum of Public Service, the Integrity Forum for civil servants and local government officials, the Summer School of Training Skills, etc. 

The Partners Forum is a public platform of the NAUCS to summarise the results of international cooperation, discuss prospects and identify challenges for the civil service. Representatives of international technical assistance projects, and international and non-governmental organisations are invited to participate.