President Volodymyr Zelensky signed draft law No. 9432 on the use of the English language in Ukraine.
This is evidenced by the card of the draft law.
The new law establishes the status of English as one of the languages of international communication in Ukraine, and also defines the list of officials who are required to speak English.
At the same time, the law regulates the peculiarities of the use of the English language in the work of state bodies, local self-government bodies, emergency aid units, when crossing the border, in the fields of education, transport and health care.
In the explanatory note to the draft law, its goal was to increase Ukraineʼs competitiveness, increase its investment and tourist attractiveness, and also create conditions for Ukrainians to master the English language.
- On June 28, 2023, the Verkhovna Rada registered draft law No. 9432 on the English language, initiated by President Volodymyr Zelensky. It caused a public outcry, as it provided for an increase in the share of films in the original language and the replacement of dubbing with Ukrainian subtitles. A petition was created on the presidentʼs website demanding the preservation of the Ukrainian dubbing, which received more than 29 000 votes out of the 25 000 required for consideration.
- On July 20, 2023, the Committee removed from the draft law all norms that would have narrowed the scope of the Ukrainian language on television and in film distribution, in particular on dubbing.
- At the beginning of June of this year, the deputies supported amendment No. 336, which provides for the reimbursement to cinemas of the costs of showing films in English, not covered by the sale of tickets.