Civil Society Organizations Signed the Manifesto for Public Service Reform

Manifesto for Public Service Reform in Ukraine

We, civil society organizations working in the field of good governance reform,

RECOGNIZING that public service reform is a cornerstone of Ukraine’s EU accession process, playing a key role in ensuring good governance and state capacity, especially under martial law and during postwar recovery—including effective service delivery to the population and the achievement of economic prosperity;

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT that a professional, depoliticized, transparent, and stable public service is crucial for implementing reforms, ensuring conditions for sustainable development, and advancing Ukraine’s European integration;

NOTING that despite the resilience demonstrated by Ukraine’s public service during the full-scale war, reform has slowed, particularly in personnel policy based on professionalism, the delineation of powers between representative and executive authorities, competitive pay, and the rollout of a human resources management information system;

EXPRESSING CONCERN that the prolonged suspension of open competitions for public service positions—first due to COVID-19 and later due to martial law—together with the absence of procedures ensuring a professional and depoliticized service, as well as non-transparent appointments and dismissals without proper communication or public reporting, undermine the independence of the public service, limits the effectiveness and autonomy of the executive branch, and weakens the state’s appeal as an employer in the eyes of citizens and Ukraine’s partners;

CONSIDERING that the problem extends beyond the current state of the public service and is rooted in institutional organization and corporate culture, characterized by excessive bureaucracy and routine, lack of mobility, insufficient initiative, leadership’s reluctance to introduce change, limited career growth opportunities due to systemic conservatism, and opaque promotion procedures;

BROADLY SUPPORTING the goals of Ukraine’s Public Administration Reform Strategy 2022-2025 and the Roadmap for Public Administration Reform, aimed at building an effective governance system capable of developing and implementing coherent policy for sustainable development and responding to internal and external challenges;

STRESSING that public administration reform is one of the key reforms under the Ukraine Plan 2024-2027 within the Ukraine Facility, encompassing improvements in recruitment, advancement, and prevention of unjustified dismissals, the restoration of transparent competitive selection, and the launch and modernization of the unified job portal;

draw attention to the key problems on the path toward a reformed public service, which must be prioritized to strengthen its effectiveness and attractiveness:  

1. Lack of transparent recruitment mechanisms and unjustified dismissals 

As noted in the European Commission’s 2024 Enlargement Package Report, the prolonged suspension of merit-based competitions and non-transparent direct appointments undermine professionalism, independence, and stability in the public service. The absence of clear mechanisms and equal access, as well as the failure to designate a single winner in competitions, discourages candidates and erodes trust in the system. Category “A” appointments are often based on political loyalty. Even if competitions are reinstated, they must be revised to include behavioral and professional competency checks and to depoliticize the High Civil Service Commission. Simplified dismissal procedures (via reorganization or a single negative performance review) create excessive turnover and destabilize the system. Opaque procedures and the lack of objective promotion criteria reduce the appeal of the public service as a career path and threaten the formation of a professional corps. 

2.   Unequal and uncompetitive pay system 

Classification of civil service positions and the reform of public sector pay were key demands of European partners for reforming Ukraine’s public service. Ukraine’s efforts have been welcomed by SIGMA experts and in EU negotiations. However, despite the adoption of the Law 4282-IX, which classifies positions by families and levels, gaps remain in distribution. As a result, the pay system remains insufficiently transparent, non-market-based, and unequal—creating disparities in institutions’ ability to offer competitive conditions. This undermines overall effectiveness, contributes to high staff turnover, adds to more than 30,000 annual vacancies, and weakens institutional capacity. 

3.   Excessive burdens of restrictions and requirements as a factor in the unattractiveness of the public service 

In recent years, Ukraine has made significant progress in strengthening anti-corruption infrastructure and adopting systemic legislation to prevent and combat corruption, as confirmed by the European Commission reports within the enlargement package. Nonetheless, current restrictions—such as lifetime designation as a politically exposed person and mandatory public disclosure of assets for all public servants—have created an imbalance between public and private interests, reducing the appeal of public service for qualified and honest citizens. While recognizing the importance of these tools and the legitimacy of the EU Directive 2015/849, including requirements to ensure transparency and accountability, we believe it is necessary to rethink their application in a way that preserves the anti-corruption achievements of the past decade while easing the burden on public servants. Such revisions should be guided by proportionality, necessity, and balance between public and private interests.

We commit to addressing these problems through advocacy, knowledge exchange, research, expert discussions, monitoring, and developing proposals on:

I. Prioritizing public administration reform as key to state effectiveness and successful European integration, and ensuring clear political leadership at the highest level, by:

• Involving civil society in preparing and implementing the Public Administration Reform Strategy 2026–2030 in line with OECD/SIGMA recommendations;
• Informing international partners about the state of public administration reform.

II. Introducing transparent civil service recruitment mechanisms by:

• Restoring competitive procedures for all categories of public service positions and ensuring maximum transparency;
• Reviewing the recruitment system to simplify, digitalize, and improve efficiency, including modern assessment methods based on behavioral competencies, technical knowledge, and skills;
• Strengthening the independence and depoliticization of the High Civil Service Commission.

III. Ensuring fair and adequate pay by:

• Considering the role of the position, level of responsibility, and level of communication when implementing the pay system, in line with European partners’ recommendations in the European Commission’s 2024 Enlargement Report;
• Avoiding unjustified pay disparities across public service institutions;
• Establishing monitoring of payroll planning and distribution during state budget preparation.

IV. Enhancing the appeal of the public service by:

• Developing approaches for gradually shifting from lifetime to temporary politically exposed person status, depending on position and authority;
• Introducing proportionate transparency and asset declaration rules with privacy protection, depending on position and authority;
• Attracting highly qualified professionals through modern career growth and internal mobility mechanisms.

We call on all stakeholders—the Verkhovna Rada, the President of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers, the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, the National Agency for Civil Service of Ukraine, civil society, and international partners—to unite efforts to address these pressing issues and advance comprehensive public service reform, which is crucial for Ukraine’s resilience, recovery, development, and EU integration.

Civil society organizations that initiated the Manifesto:

• Professional Government Association (PGA)
• Centre of Policy and Legal Reform
• Coalition Reanimation Package of Reforms
• Vox Ukraine
• Centre for Democracy and Rule of Law
• Ukrainian Association of Political Sciences