In the second reading, the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian Parliament) voted for the draft law on lobbying, the adoption of which is actually the last of the requirements of the European Commission for the start of negotiations on Ukraineʼs accession to the EU.
The law enters into force only two months after the start of the operation of the Transparency Register from the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NAPC), but no later than January 1, 2025, as informed the MP from "Voice" Yaroslav Zheleznyak.
Ярослав Железняк / Telegram
The adoption of the corresponding law is one of the four recommendations of the European Commission, the implementation of which Ukraine had to complete by March, according to the ECʼs November report on enlargement. Currently, this is actually the only condition that remains.
The draft law, among other things, proposes to define:
- terminology in the field of lobbying;
- rights and obligations of lobbying subjects;
- influence methods;
- rules of ethical behavior of lobbying subjects;
- creation of the Transparency Register, the holder and administrator of which is the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption;
- the procedure for registration in the Transparency Register and exceptions to it;
- access to the Transparency Register (open and free);
- reporting of the lobbying entity entered into the Transparency Register;
- mechanisms for monitoring the activities of lobbying entities by monitoring compliance with legislation on lobbying.
The head of NAPC Oleksandr Novikov says that the draft law provides for the creation of a transparent lobbying market.
"It is obvious that it still exists, but it is in the shadows, which creates corruption risks. After every election, we throw away people who can legally and transparently represent the public interest of various business and social groups, because there is no regulated lobbying market. And the same business associations currently do not have a standardized mechanism to lobby their interests. The document is designed to change this by establishing clear rules of the game," he explained in an interview with Forbes.
Another goal is to strengthen public organizations and give them legal mechanisms for advocating their initiatives.