Reform of the security and defence sector aims not only to ensure compliance with normative legal acts but also to bring about real changes in the institutional capacity, transparency and accountability of the entire law enforcement system. Accordingly, all stakeholders should be interested in this process — representatives of state institutions, civil society and international partners alike.
On 25 February, the Agency for Legislative Initiatives joined the first constituent meeting of the Coordination Council on monitoring the implementation of the Action Plan aimed at executing the Overarching Strategic Plan for Law Enforcement Reform as Part of the Security and Defence Sector of Ukraine for 2023–2027 (OSP). During the meeting, an Expert Working Group was established within the Coordination Council, and its composition and regulations were approved. Yevhen Krapyvin, Head of the Law-and-Order Area at the ALI, joined this group, which will provide expert support for monitoring and assessing the implementation of the OSP.
Participants discussed the state of implementation of the OSP, further steps and the strengthening of effective interagency cooperation to ensure the efficient and timely implementation of the OSP, as well as international support for the implementation of the reforms.
The Head of the Coordination Council, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Taras Kachka, emphasised the importance of consolidating the efforts of all state institutions on the path towards European integration — further progress must be pursued even more actively.
The Deputy Head of the Coordination Council, Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Ihor Klymenko, stressed that the reform is key to the transformation of the state and provided examples of changes already implemented — the operation of the 112 Service, the modernisation of the alert system, a new HRM strategy and the work of the relevant coordination centre. For his part, the Secretary of the Coordination Council, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Oleksii Serhieiev, spoke about the scale and interagency nature of the plan: ‘The Overarching Strategic Plan covers 198 measures and nearly 50 entities are involved in its implementation — state and local authorities, civil society organisations and research institutions.’
Yevhen Krapyvin, Head of the Law and Order Area at the ALI, noted that the Coordination Council and the expert group established under it constitute an important step on the path towards European integration.
The expert has been involved in the development of both the Overarching Strategic Plan for Law Enforcement Reform and the Action Plan for its implementation since 2020, when the idea emerged to continue the 2008 Concept for the Development of Criminal Justice. Ultimately, these documents were developed by a working group coordinated by the Office of the Prosecutor General and adopted in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Therefore, implementing these ideas in practice is a shared task for law enforcement bodies, central executive authorities, Members of Parliament and international partners.
For its part, the ALI, together with other representatives of the expert community, will continue to support the reform of law enforcement bodies and the prosecution service in Ukraine through analytical work — with the aim of shaping an objective and substantive approach to implementing reforms.
Background
The Coordination Council was established pursuant to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 65 of 21 January 2026 as a temporary advisory body of the Government. The Council is chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine. The Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine serves as Deputy Head of the Council, while the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs acts as its Secretary. The official composition of the Council includes the heads of key law enforcement bodies (NPU, SBGS, SBI, ESBU, SSU, the State Customs Service), representatives of the Office of the President, the National Security and Defence Council, Members of Parliament, as well as international partners.
