LVIV, Nov. 19 – The European Union is ready to allocate UAH 97 million for the training of the officials of the united territorial communities recently created under the law of Ukraine on the voluntary merger of territorial communities, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Johannes Hahn said when commenting on the decentralization reform in Ukraine.

Speaking at a press conference in Lviv on Thursday, Hahn said that the EU supported the well-organized and purposeful decentralization in Ukraine, because it allowed bringing decision making closer to people. At the same time, the EU is well aware that for the successful implementation of such a reform people with proper training are needed, in particular in posts in their respective administrations, he said. In this view, the EU is ready to allocate EUR 97 million to finance and co-finance the training of such officials, the commissioner said.