Ukraine pledges to legally ensure independence of AMCU head appointment from political interference - memo
Ukraine, within the framework of a memorandum with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), pledged to pass legislation on the financial and operational independence of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU), as well as on the transparent, competitive and protected from political interference appointment of the head of the committee and state commissioners.
"We will create a working group with key stakeholders including the NEURC, the Ministry of Energy and the Anti-Monopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) whose task will be to develop and promulgate by end-March 2022 a joint workable action plan to ensure development and enforcement of market and anti-monopoly regulations, including effective unbundling of DSOs (distribution system operators) and suppliers in all regions so that they cannot have the same beneficial owner. The regulator will be responsible for verifying the effectiveness of the unbundling," according to the document.
"We will also adopt legislation to ensure the AMCU's financial and operational independence; that the appointment of its chairman and commissioners is transparent, competitive and insulated from political interference and a clear exhaustive list of reasons for their dismissal is provided; that its powers are strengthened to conduct physical searches, confiscate documents and to obtain information from, and share information with law enforcement agencies and other government bodies; and that its decisions will gain the status of enforcement documents, so that there is no need for a court process to enforce decisions. Finally, the AMCU will publish information on the initiation and results of its investigations," the memo reads.