On March 27, the Government held the first EU-Ukraine Strategic Dialogue aimed to discuss public administration reform and its key results and challenges.

Public administration reform is a priority for the Government. The quality of public institutions affects economic growth and standards of living. Effective public administration means professional public service, proper policy-making and legislative procedures, clear mechanisms for accountability of institutions and their ability to provide quality services to citizens and business.

In 2017 the Government launched a large-scale reorganization of the ministries. In ten pilot ministries, in the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and in two agencies, new directorates have been set up. New structures will be responsible for policymaking, strategic planning and European integration. To attract new professionals the Government started the recruitment to new civil service positions. At the end of the last year: 821 reform staff positions (RSPs) were identified; 367 competitions were held in which almost 10 000 people took part; 77 people were appointed; a modern vacancy portal career.gov.ua was launched; 13,000 applications were submitted online through the portal; the average number of candidates was 26 people per position.

In providing quality administrative services and the development of open data, the Government of Ukraine has introduced 35 e-services for the citizens and business, including registration services, social services etc. The portal of open data "data.gov.ua" has been launched, it published more than 25 000 sets of data.

"Today Ukraine is building a more transparent, efficient and accountable public administration. This important work will result in improved public services, which will be more often provided via online electronic systems, saving time and money for Ukrainian citizens and businesses. While public administration reform is a marathon and will not happen overnight, Ukraine has already achieved impressive results. The EU is fully supporting these efforts, including also financially through a dedicated assistance of more than million euros", Peter Wagner, Head of the EU Support Group for Ukraine said.

In 2018 the Government intends to complete the reorganization of ministries; update the Government Rule of Procedure and policy-making procedures, introduce a new salary system and procedures for assessing civil servants; improve procedures of public service recruitment, adopt necessary changes to legislation, strengthen communication of the reform etc.

"We have actively begun reforming public administration. We change structures, procedures, update the civil service, implement e-government. We have numerous positive results as well as challenges. A lot of work is ahead, and ambitious goals are to be achieved", Oleksandr Saienko, the Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine said.

Oleksandr Saienko thanked EU representatives and other international partners for the political, expert and financial support of the public administration reform, which is strategically important for the Government.