On April 11, the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian Parliament) voted in the first reading for draft law No. 10439 on restarting the Bureau of Economic Security (BES).
The MP from "Voice" Yaroslav Zheleznyak reported this.
264 MPs supported the project, five were against it.
According to Zheleznyak, the draft law provides for mandatory re-certification of employees, and also that international partners will have a decisive vote in the selection and re-certification of employees.
The MP expects that the following changes will be made to the document before the second reading:
- not two, but one candidacy for the position of director of BES will be submitted for consideration by the Prime Minister of Ukraine;
- procedures for re-certification and selection of employees will be prescribed in detail.
Why is this important?
Restarting the Bureau of Economic Security has become one of the conditions for Ukraine in the International Monetary Fundʼs extended financing program. Support from the EU is tied to this reform. However, the government bill goes against the proposals of the partners.
The memorandum with the Fund talks about making changes to the current law that regulates the activities of the BES. The key goal is to develop transparent criteria for the selection of staff and management of the bureau. The document also states that BES should be subordinated to the Ministry of Finance, and not to the direction of the government, as it is now. A group of ambassadors of the "Big Seven" countries is asking to reform the Security Council, strengthen its independence and effectiveness. These reforms are on the priority list for 2024.
On December 29, 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers approved and submitted to the Verkhovna Rada a draft law that proposes to "restart" the work of the BES, but it was criticized by the Central Committee and some peopleʼs deputies.
Already on February 12, 2024, the Verkhovna Rada registered draft law No. 10439-2, which is an alternative to the one previously submitted by the Cabinet of Ministers.
Analytical centers also opposed the government bill: Institute of Socio-Economic Transformation, CASE Ukraine, Institute of Tax Reforms, Center of Economic Strategy. "European Business Association" asked to support the alternative draft law No. 10439-2, because it believes that it will be able to really reform BES and make it independent.
On February 23, the Verkhovna Rada failed to vote in the first reading on draft law No. 10439. It was sent for a second first reading with a shortened consideration period.