European Solidarity to boycott bill on entrepreneurship regulation
The members of the European Solidarity faction are drawing up resolutions to block bill No. 6013 on the peculiarities of regulation of entrepreneurial activity of certain types of legal entities and their associations in the transition period, as the one provides for the abolition of fines for poor quality arms supply, the website of the political force has said on Thursday.
"Just now 248 MPs – the Servants [Servant of the People faction], the Opposition Platform-For Life and for some reason the Holos faction – supported the bill on peculiarities of regulation of entrepreneurial activity of certain legal entities in the transition period No. 6013, by which they eliminated fines for substandard supply of weapons and shells and mines from unscrupulous suppliers. [...] They legalized poor quality mines and shells, supported the corrupt officials, and not the AFU [Armed Forces of Ukraine]," Co-chair of the European Solidarity faction Iryna Gerashchenko said.
She also noted that this bill, canceling the Economic Code of Ukraine, "strikes a blow to the stability of both communities and the warring state."
"The authors of the law did not calculate the possible risks to communities from the transfer of municipal enterprises to private individuals during martial law. The bill notes that this is part of the Ukraine Facility, but it is not," the MP said.
Gerashchenko pointed out that the bill contains numerous corruption risks, in particular, in the transfer of state and municipal property.
"Privatization of state enterprises may lead to loss of control over strategic facilities, which is dangerous in war conditions. Replacing municipal enterprises with business entities jeopardizes socially important services. The draft law contradicts the Constitution of Ukraine. The bill cannot be corrected by technical editing and may damage the economy, social sphere and local self-government," she said.
The MP also noted that the draft has not changed for the second reading, but there was an amendment to it, canceling fines from disadvantaged suppliers of weapons.
"European solidarity did not vote in favor of this and is now preparing blocking resolutions," Gerashchenko said.
As reported, the Verkhovna Rada adopted in the first reading bill No. 6013 on January 12, 2023.
The bill proposes to invalidate the Economic Code of Ukraine. The purpose of the document is also to introduce a transition period of seven years for the gradual termination of "enterprises" and their transformation into economic entities in compliance with the principle of proportional and intended intervention in the rights of the founders of such legal entities without imposing on them an excessive burden of compliance with the provisions of the law.
The bill replaces the quasi-proprietary rights of "economic management" and "operational management" with clear and implied private legal structures of use (lease) and management of other owners' property. It also provides for the implementation into the current legislation of the best practices of corporate governance, in particular in terms of defining the duties of officials of legal entities, as well as the introduction into the current civil legislation of Ukraine of effective and market mechanisms of control over the ownership and management of the objects of state and municipal property rights by newly established companies and institutions.
The Association of Ukrainian Cities has appealed to parliamentarians to reject the draft law. They argue that the bill will stop the work of municipal hospitals, schools, heat and water supply enterprises, and also directly violates Articles 142 and 143 of the Constitution of Ukraine, as it prohibits territorial communities from creating municipal enterprises, pooling budget funds and creating necessary services. The association insists on the necessity to preserve municipal enterprises.
The All-Ukrainian Association of Communities believes that the draft law is not ready and may have negative consequences for the functioning of public utilities and therefore calls on the parliament not to support it. The association said that it will seek to preserve all available opportunities for the existing utility companies when working on draft law No. 6013.