The Committee on Humanitarian Policy of the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian Parliament) recommended draft law No. 9432 on the English language for the first reading.
This was reported by a deputy from the "European Solidarity" faction Volodymyr Viatrovych.
According to him, all norms that would have narrowed the scope of the Ukrainian language on television and in film distribution were removed from it, namely:
- the requirement to show English-language films in cinemas in the original language;
- changes to the law on cinematography;
- changes to the law on the state language in terms of cinema;
- changes to the media law regarding the reduction of Ukrainian-language program quotas.
In August of last year, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy developed a draft law on establishing a special status of English in Ukraine as the language of international communication.
On June 28, 2023, the Verkhovna Rada registered draft law No. 9432 on the English language, which was initiated by President 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.