The deputies of the Verkhovna Rada supported the draft law No. 10337 on fair lobbying in the first reading by 309 votes. The document provides for the introduction of lobbyist status, registration in the transparency register, reporting on lobbying activities, etc. The adoption of this document brings Ukrainian legislation closer to the norms in force in civilized countries.
This was stated by the MP, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Policy Denys Maslov.
“As of today, the lobbying procedure in Ukraine is not regulated at all. Many citizens think that lobbying is about corruption and legalization of bribery. In fact, this is not the case. This draft law regulates the following: if some individuals or a group of individuals, having their own private interest, want to influence the adoption of a particular legal act, change, repeal, etc., they approach the relevant initiators, authors, deputies, officials, etc. and communicate and convince them. This can be a regulatory act adopted by local governments,” the politician explained.
He specified that all these actions should be carried out within the framework of lobbying procedures. Only those who are registered in the transparency register will have the right to do so.
According to him, such a mechanism is being implemented so that every citizen can check who communicated about what and how they tried to influence the adoption of a particular legal act.
Denys Maslov noted that the adoption of the draft law on lobbying is a recommendation of the European Commission and the so-called GRECO group, a respected institution fighting against corruption.
“Ukraine continues to fulfill the recommendations and its obligations on the way to joining the EU. In general, the lobbying procedure is a global practice. In the United States, this procedure is almost 100 years old. Canada has it, the UK has it, and there are trends in the European Union. In particular, there is a serious discussion in the EU about strengthening the regulation of lobbying procedures. All this is to ensure that representatives of various companies with private interests, or even representatives of other countries, such as russia, do not directly or through organizations under their control influence decision-making by political actors within the EU. And here we are in line with the practice of the European Union,” the parliamentarian said.
He added that after the EU adopts common standards, we will implement the corresponding mirror norms in Ukraine.