13 November 2026, 15:30
On November 9-12, the Verkhovna Rada considered another major package of legislative decisions related to Ukraine’s preparation for EU membership.
Here is a plain-language breakdown of what is changing and why it matters for accession negotiations.
SEPA: Bringing Ukrainian Payments Closer to the European Payment Area
One of the most notable decisions of the week was Ukraine’s further progress toward joining the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA).
On November 10, with 249 votes in favor, the Verkhovna Rada adopted Draft Law No. 14327-d at first reading with further revision. Another 258 MPs backed the related Draft Law No. 15503 at first reading. Official information from the Verkhovna Rada confirms the adoption of both bills at first reading.
What is SEPA in simple terms? It is a European payments area in which euro transfers between banks in different countries are processed under common rules. For individuals and businesses, this means simpler, faster, and more standardized payments with European countries.
However, for Ukraine to join this system, technically connecting banks alone is not enough. It is necessary to align with European standards the rules on financial monitoring, access of competent authorities to account information, beneficial ownership, and the protection of persons reporting breaches.
To this end, Draft Law No. 14327-d provides, in particular, for establishing a centralized mechanism for obtaining information on bank and payment accounts. Importantly, this is not a register of all transactions or citizens’ account balances, but rather a tool enabling competent authorities to identify where a specific individual holds an account when necessary for a financial investigation.
Draft Law No. 15503 complements this package with amendments to the Civil Code, specifically regarding the protection of persons who report suspicious financial transactions or other breaches in good faith.
In the accession negotiation process, this primarily concerns Cluster 2 “Internal Market,” Chapter 4 “Free Movement of Capital,” and Chapter 9 “Financial Services,” as well as anti-money laundering issues under Cluster 1 “Fundamentals of the EU Accession Process.”
It is important to understand that the adoption of these laws alone does not automatically mean Ukraine’s accession to SEPA. However, it creates the necessary legal prerequisites for taking this step.
Cleaner water: Implementation of the EU Nitrates Directive
On November 9, with 248 votes in favour, the Verkhovna Rada adopted as a basis with further revision Draft Law No. 11486 “On the Protection of Waters Against Pollution Caused by Nitrates from Agricultural Sources.”
This is an example of directly aligning Ukrainian legislation with a specific act of EU law—the Nitrates Directive.
The issue is quite practical. Fertilizers and livestock manure contain nitrogen compounds. When they enter groundwater or surface waters in excessive amounts, this degrades drinking water quality, harms rivers and lakes, and can cause serious environmental problems.
The European model provides for identifying territories and waters that are particularly vulnerable to such pollution, establishing rules for the application and storage of fertilizers, implementing action programs for the agricultural sector, and conducting continuous water quality monitoring.
Ukraine is to gradually establish precisely such a system. The draft law falls under Chapter 27 “Environment and Climate Change” of Cluster 4 “Green Agenda and Sustainable Connectivity,” and is additionally linked to agricultural policy.
From Food Safety to Animal Health: A Major EU Agricultural Package
Another large-scale EU integration bill is Draft Law No. 15058-d.
On November 9, 245 MPs backed it at first reading.
It covers a broad body of rules at once: food safety, veterinary medicine, animal health and welfare, feed, genetically modified organisms, phytosanitary control, and plant protection.
This falls under Chapter 12 “Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Policy” of Cluster 5 “Resources, Agriculture and Cohesion Policy.”
For citizens, this is primarily a matter of food safety. For Ukrainian agribusiness, it means opportunities to operate under rules compatible with European standards and access the EU internal market.
At the same time, the draft law still requires substantial revision. An analysis by the Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the European Union points to certain discrepancies with European regulations, and the European Commission still needs to assess the compliance of a significant number of the bill’s provisions with EU law. In other words, the direction of the reform has been endorsed, but work on its precision is not yet complete.
State Aid to Business: Restoring European Competition Rules
On November 11, with 265 votes in favor, the Verkhovna Rada adopted as a whole Law No. 15437 on state aid to undertakings.
This concerns restoring the system for controlling how the state provides financial support to enterprises.
Why does this matter to the EU? In the European Union’s internal market, a state cannot simply grant a selective financial advantage to one company if doing so places its competitors at a disadvantage. That is why the EU maintains a well-developed system of state aid control.
Ukraine assumed similar commitments under the Association Agreement, and this area now forms part of Chapter 8 “Competition Policy” under Cluster 2 “Internal Market.”
During the full-scale war, certain control mechanisms were restricted. The new law restores the system to fuller operation and improves the monitoring of state support.
This is also particularly important for reconstruction: significant amounts of public funds will be channeled into enterprises, infrastructure, and specific sectors, so the rules must be transparent and must not create undue advantages.
The reform is also linked to the Ukraine Plan under the Ukraine Facility—meaning the implementation of reforms on which financial support from the EU depends.
Taxes and Banking: Less Bureaucracy, Greater Compatibility with European Rules
On November 11, Parliament adopted in full two decisions in the financial sector.
Law No. 16037-d, backed by 273 votes, simplifies VAT administration. In particular, it provides for broader use of pre-filled tax returns, revised rules for verifying VAT refunds, and targeted simplifications for taxpayers.
Its EU integration link is largely indirect: while the EU maintains a common VAT system, Member States determine a significant portion of tax administration procedures independently. Thus, the primary goal here is to make Ukraine’s system more digital, predictable, and compatible with further alignment with European rules.
Additionally, with 268 votes, Parliament adopted Law No. 15555 on the disclosure of banking secrecy by the National Bank of Ukraine.
This primarily concerns information that the NBU receives from foreign regulators. Ukrainian legislation must ensure a balance: confidential financial information must remain protected, while banking supervision must simultaneously be able to exchange necessary data effectively with foreign counterparts.
Bankruptcy Is Set to Become Simpler for Small Businesses
On November 11, with 291 votes in favor, the Verkhovna Rada adopted Law No. 15024 on simplifying bankruptcy procedures for micro- and small enterprises.
For a small enterprise, a multi-year and costly bankruptcy procedure can effectively mean the complete cessation of economic activity.
The European approach holds that restructuring and insolvency procedures should be swift, proportionate, and give entrepreneurs a genuine opportunity to settle their debts and return to economic activity.
It is precisely toward these principles of Directive (EU) 2019/1023 that the Ukrainian system is aligning. The law also regulates specific issues concerning the bankruptcy of state-owned enterprises and companies slated for privatization.
This forms part of Chapter 6 “Company Law” under Cluster 2 “Internal Market.”
Combating Foreign Bribery and Moving Toward the OECD
On November 10, with 247 votes in favor, Parliament adopted in full Law No. 15056, which is required to implement the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions.
In simple terms, this addresses situations in which a company or its representatives bribe an official of another state to obtain a contract, permit, or other commercial advantage.
Ukrainian legislation clarifies the definition of a foreign public official, the rules governing the liability of legal persons and their legal successors, as well as companies’ anti-corruption obligations.
This is important not only for Ukraine’s future membership in the OECD. The fight against corruption is a horizontal issue under Cluster 1 “Fundamentals of the EU Accession Process” and is continuously assessed by the European Commission as part of the accession negotiations.
State-Owned Enterprises: More Professional Supervisory Boards
On November 11, with 258 votes in favor, the Verkhovna Rada adopted at first reading with further revision Draft Law No. 16125 on corporate governance.
This primarily concerns state-owned enterprises and companies in which the state holds a controlling stake.
The draft law proposes defining the competencies of supervisory boards more clearly, introducing board composition profiles and competency matrices, and improving the evaluation of supervisory board performance as well as the distribution of powers among the owner, the supervisory board, and the executive body.
The logic of the reform is straightforward: the state, as the owner of an enterprise, should set strategic objectives rather than micromanage the company. This requires professional supervisory boards, transparent procedures, and independent internal control.
The primary benchmark here is OECD standards and European practices for corporate governance of state-owned enterprises.
Rule of Law: The High Anti-Corruption Court and Prosecutorial Independence
Two additional decisions relate to Cluster 1 “Fundamentals of the EU Accession Process,” which is central to the entire negotiation process.
With 250 votes in favor, the Verkhovna Rada adopted at first reading with further revision Draft Law No. 16043 on the operation of the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC).
Its objective is to improve HACC procedures for reviewing cases involving unjustified assets and specific sanctions-related cases. For the EU, what matters here is not formal amendments to procedural codes, but the effectiveness of anti-corruption justice, reasonable timeframes for court proceedings, and safeguarding the right to a fair trial.
Separately, with 236 votes, Parliament adopted at first reading Draft Law No. 16144 on prosecution bodies. It is designed to strengthen the institutional independence of prosecutorial self-governance and improve disciplinary procedures for prosecutors.
The European rationale here rests on balance: a prosecutor must be protected from undue political or administrative influence, while a transparent and fair system of professional accountability must exist at the same time.
Both reforms are directly linked to the implementation of the Rule of Law Roadmap.
Frontex: Preparing Border Management for Future Membership
On November 12, with 245 votes in favor, the Verkhovna Rada adopted at first reading Draft Law No. 15505 “On cooperation with the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex)”.
The draft law is intended to officially designate the Administration of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine as the national contact point for cooperation with Frontex.
For the general reader, this means establishing a permanent mechanism through which the Ukrainian border and other competent authorities will be able to systematically exchange information and coordinate cooperation with the European agency.
This forms part of Chapter 24 “Justice, Freedom and Security” under Cluster 1 “Fundamentals of the EU Accession Process” and prepares Ukraine’s border management system for future operation within the common European area.
At the same time, the bill still requires revision ahead of its second reading. In particular, it is necessary to more clearly define the functions of the contact point, the scope of the State Border Guard Service’s coordinating powers, and how they align with the model envisaged by the EU Regulation on the European Border and Coast Guard.
What This Plenary Week Demonstrated
The decisions of November 9–12 cover virtually the entire spectrum of accession negotiations: financial services and the movement of capital, competition, taxation, company law, the environment, agriculture, food safety, anti-corruption policy, judicial reform, the prosecution service, and border management.
This clearly illustrates why European integration cannot be the work of a single ministry or a single parliamentary committee.
To become a member of the European Union, Ukraine must gradually overhaul its rules across practically all areas of state governance and the economy.