In the second reading, the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian Parliament) voted for draft law No. 10439 on restarting the Bureau of Economic Security (BES). It was supported by 239 MPs.
MP from "Voice" Yaroslav Zheleznyak reported this.
The draft law provides for mandatory re-certification of employees, and also establishes that international partners will have a decisive vote in the selection and re-certification of employees.
According to Zheleznyak, the new and final version of the document now meets the requirements of international partners, business and the public.
The draft law also stipulates that the new head of the BES should be elected by a commission of six members, half of whom are international experts with the right to vote.
The re-certification of employees should be carried out by a commission consisting of six people from the new director of BES and six from international partners at the suggestion of Ukrainian business.
During the next three years, personnel commissions will work: six members from BES and six from partners.
At the same time, the draft law defines the independence of the director of the BES at the level of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutorʼs Office (SAP), the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC), as well as the independence of the BES as an institution.
Why is this important?
Restarting the Bureau of Economic Security became one of the conditions for Ukraine in the program of extended financing of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Support from the EU is tied to this reform.
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 efficiency. These reforms are on the priority list for 2024.