There is | body in focus of our committee scan today:
Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into EU
At its 27 March sitting, the committee considered an array of bills with the object to their compliance with EU law and Ukraine’s international legal commitments under the Association Agreement.
As compliant, there were recognized the following bills:
· Bill No.2248-1 amending the Law of Ukraine “On state regulation of production and circulation of ethyl alcohol, cognac and fruit spirits, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and fuel”. The paper is to introduce obligatory declaring of fuel storage warehouses used solely for in-house needs and not for sales to third parties.
· Bill No.3201 on main principles of governmental support to new investments in Ukraine. The document provides for the introduction of a number of state programmes aimed to stimulate new investments in Ukraine, tax incentives at the expense of corporate income tax, indirect taxes and other mechanisms.
· Bill No.2659 “On amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine regarding the acquirement, execution and protection of property rights of intellectual property”.
· Bill No.2623 concerning amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine. The bill is meant to introduce a new organizational and legal status – a state nonprofit enterprise. The purpose of the novelty is to rearrange state healthcare establishments into state nonprofit enterprises with no profits going to the state.
· Bill No.3023-1 that “legalizes” portable electric transportation devices.
· Bills Nos. 2584-1, 2584-2 on amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine with regard to regularizing grounds, conditions and procedure for dismissal of employees. The documents provide for a general procedure for employee-triggered termination of an employment contract concluded for an indefinite or fixed term. There was also suggested excluding preconception and mobbing in labour relations. The draft bill No.2584-2 also provides for the adaptation of national labour law to provisions of the European Social Charter to the extent of protection against the release of pregnant women and women who have children.
As non-compliant, there were recognized the following bills:
· Bill No.2248 on amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On state regulation of production and circulation of ethyl alcohol, cognac and fruit spirits, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and fuel (regarding the revised licensing procedure for the right to fuel wholesaling and storage of petrol)”. The paper provides for cancelling obligatory declaring of fuel/petrol storage warehouses used for in-house needs (not for processing and/or selling) for all businesses regardless of property type.
· Bill No.2584 on amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine with regard to regularizing grounds, conditions and procedure for dismissal of employees. The bill is to broaden the list of grounds for an employer-triggered dismissal of employees and to prohibit dismissal of employees on the above grounds.
The сommittee also considered the draft bill No.2582 amending the Law of Ukraine "On electricity market". The bill proposes to legislate the status of electricity (energy) storage systems. This is to ensure the use of the energy storage systems, balance the national power system and improve the stability of electricity supply to consumers.
In addition, the sitting reviewed two draft bills Nos.3097 and 3097-1, both of which are aimed at strengthening the protection of rights of consumers of housing and communal services (HCS). Through the alteration of the Laws of Ukraine “On housing and communal services” and “On consumer protection”, there might be introduced (i) a tenfold amends to HCS consumers able to prove that utility bills provided are overrated or wrongful/unlawful, (ii) abolition of fine for tardy payment for utilities services, (iii) freeze over forced evictions, enforced collection of dwellings, and discontinuance of utilities supply.