Violations in Lobbying Sphere, Plan for Ukraine Facility Program

Law on Liability for Violations in Lobbying Sphere Adopted: What Fines are Provided?

On 21 March 2024, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the Law (Draft Law No. 10373) amending the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses (CUAO) regarding liability for violations in the practice of lobbying.

It is worth noting that this Law is a kind of supplement to the existing Law of Ukraine “On Lobbying”, which for the first time regulated lobbying activities in Ukraine at the legislative level.

Thus, it is proposed to supplement the Code of Administrative Offenses with new Articles 172-9-3, 172-9-4, 172-9-5, which establish such liability for “lobbyists”:

Lobbying without registration in the Transparency Register, failure to submit or late submission of a report by a lobbying entity – a fine of UAH 850.00 to UAH 1,700.00;
Submission of knowingly false information by a lobbying entity to the Transparency Register – a fine of UAH 1,700.00 to UAH 5,100.00;
Lobbying in the interests of a person who cannot be a beneficiary/client – a fine of UAH 17,000.00 to UAH 34,000.00 with a ban on lobbying for a period of one year;
Taking actions or making decisions in conditions of conflict of interest during lobbying – a fine of UAH 5,100.00 to UAH 8,500.00.

The Law is currently pending signature by the President of Ukraine.

Ukraine and the EU Sign an Agreement on Fighting Fraud

According to the announcement of the Ministry of Finance, on 20 March 2024, Ukraine and the European Union signed an Agreement on Ukraine’s participation in the EU Anti-Fraud Program.

It is expected that the Agreement will, in particular, contribute to the protection of the financial interests of the European Union and Ukraine by preventing and combating fraud, corruption and any other illegal activity.

Cabinet of Ministers Approves the Plan for Implementation of the Ukraine Facility Program

According to the information from the Government Portal, on 18 March 2024, at its meeting, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the Ukraine Facility Plan, which will form the basis for the implementation of the EU’s financial support program for Ukraine in 2024-2027.
The Plan envisages large-scale reforms in the public and economic sectors. Particular attention is paid to the development of the business climate and entrepreneurship for rapid economic growth.

In addition, the implementation of the Plan will contribute to Ukraine’s European integration and further sustainable economic development.

Moreover, on 20 March, Ukraine received the first EUR 4.5 billion of transitional financing under the Ukraine Facility Program.
The Plan is now expected to be approved by the European Commission and confirmed by a committee of EU member states. After that, the Ukraine Facility Program will finally enter into force.

As a reminder, in February 2024, the European Parliament approved the Ukraine Facility Program Regulation. According to the approved Regulation, the EU’s support to Ukraine in 2024-2027 will amount to EUR 50 billion, of which EUR 38.27 billion will be allocated to support the state budget.

Government Launches a Mechanism for State Support of Projects with Significant Investments

This is announced by the Ministry of Economy in a press release dated 15 March 2024.

Thus, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the Procedure for compensation of the cost of certain expenses of an applicant/investor with significant investments incurred by him as part of the project. In particular, these are the costs of construction of engineering and transport infrastructure facilities and connection to the engineering and transport networks necessary for the project implementation.

It is reported that this is the last regulatory act required to launch investor support.

As a reminder, according to the Law of Ukraine “On State Support of Investment Projects with Significant Investments in Ukraine”, investors planning to implement a project in Ukraine worth EUR 12 million or more and with a duration of up to 5 years in the areas of processing industry, mining, transport, logistics, waste management, electronic communications, etc. will be eligible for such state support.

Cabinet of Ministers Terminates the Register of “International Sponsors of War”

According to the press service of the Cabinet of Ministers, at its meeting on 19 March 2024, the Government decided to terminate the NACP’s maintenance of the register of “international sponsors of war”.

Among the reasons for this decision are, in particular, numerous appeals from representatives of the diplomatic corps of partner countries regarding the lack of a regulatory framework for the existence of a list of “international sponsors of war”, as well as the inadmissibility of disseminating such information on behalf of the state without regulating the issue at the legislative level.

From now on, when users visit the webpage of the list of “international sponsors of war”, they will be automatically redirected to the NSDC website “State Register of Sanctions”.

Obligation to Declare Postal Parcels Abolished for Postal Parcels Abroad Costing Up to EUR 1000

The relevant Law (Draft Law No. 9456) amending the Customs Code was adopted as a whole on 20 March 2024.

Thus, the Law, inter alia, raised from EUR 150 to EUR 1,000 the threshold for the value of goods that Ukrainian entrepreneurs can send abroad without filing a customs declaration.

This step is expected to significantly reduce costs for Ukrainian businesses and speed up logistics.

The Law is currently awaiting the signature of the President of Ukraine.