The Civilian Security Sector Reform (CSSR) programme has been launched, bringing together the Agency for Legislative Initiatives and other civil society organisations, think tanks and experts to discuss how to reform the civilian security sector and make it more effective, transparent and aligned with EU standards.
The discussion also focused on how civil society can meaningfully influence the implementation of the Action Plan for the implementation of the Overarching Strategic Plan for Law Enforcement Reform (OAS) – the key transformation document for 2023–2027. An important part of the event was identifying ‘entry points’ for civil society organisations to support the authorities in implementing the reform, particularly through contributing to the preparation of draft laws and strategic documents.
Evhen Krapyvin, Head of the ‘Law and Order’ Area at the ALI, spoke about the progress made and the challenges encountered in implementing the OAS Action Plan.
As noted by the expert, reform of law-enforcement agencies requires a comprehensive approach: Chapter 24 of the EU acquis contains not only a list of specific measures, but first and foremost refers to the Overarching Strategic Plan. In other words, the task is twofold and concerns not only individual institutions, but also the rules under which they operate — changes to criminal procedure, forensic activity, criminal policy and so on. The main institutions responsible for implementing these measures are the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine. At the same time, Yevhen Krapyvin noted that there are far fewer civil society organisations specialising in these areas than in anti-corruption or judicial reform.
Regarding the implementation of the Overarching Strategic Plan, session participants discussed the following issues:
- how the OAS and its Action Plan are embedded in the fulfilment of obligations under Chapters 23 and 24;
- the role of the OAS Plan in reforming law enforcement agencies;
- why implementation of the Action Plan is effectively equivalent to fulfilling the EU’s requirements;
- where in this process the involvement of civil society is essential.
It should be recalled that the adoption of the Overarching Strategic Plan in 2023 constituted the implementation of one of the seven recommendations made by the European Commission in June 2022 regarding the granting of EU candidate status to Ukraine. The following year, by Order No. 273 of 23 August 2024, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the Action Plan, which contains a detailed list of measures for implementing the strategic priorities and is specifically aimed at delivering the OAS. In 2025, the OAS became an integral part of the Rule of Law Roadmap, as its implementation is one of the EU integration measures under Chapter 24 of the EU acquis.
Some of the strategic priorities of the Action Plan are examined in greater detail in a separate article by the Agency for Legislative Initiatives.
Background
The Civilian Security Sector Reform (CSSR) programme is aimed at supporting Ukraine’s European integration objectives by assisting Ukrainian partners in reforming the law-enforcement sector in line with the Overarching Strategic Plan for Law Enforcement Reform as part of Ukraine’s security and defence sector for 2023–2027 and its Action Plan. The programme is implemented with the support of the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.
