Rada proposes aligning fines for transporting illegal migrants with EU norms

MPs propose that the Verkhovna Rada increase the maximum fine for transporting illegal migrants in accordance with European Union legislation.

The corresponding bill No. 15118 on amendments to certain laws regarding the improvement of legislation in the field of state border protection of Ukraine was registered in the Verkhovna Rada on March 31, according to the parliament's website.

The bill proposes to amend several existing laws.

As noted in the explanatory note, specifically, it concerns amendments to the law "On the responsibility of carriers during international passenger transportation," which will bring national legislation closer to EU law regarding the establishment of responsibility provided for by the EU Council Directive of June 28, 2001, concerning the maximum fine for transporting illegal migrants. The changes provide that enterprises, their associations, institutions, organizations, and individual entrepreneurs engaged in international passenger transportation, in case of failure to fulfill the obligation to check a passenger's passport, visa, or other documents required for entry into the country of destination or transit before the start of transportation, resulting in the transportation or attempted transportation of persons across the state border of Ukraine without such documents, bear responsibility in the form of a fine of 47 subsistence minimums for able-bodied persons (as of January 1 of the calendar year) for each such passenger, but no more than 8,000 (compared to no more than 600 in the current law) subsistence minimums per single transportation. A fine of 50 subsistence minimums per transportation is provided for failure to provide or providing unreliable data regarding passenger registration.

Amendments to the law "On the State Border of Ukraine" propose granting border guards the right to use firearms, weaponry, and military equipment to forcibly terminate a flight or voyage by damaging or destroying an unmanned vessel moving within the border strip, over, under, or near ships, boats, or support vessels of the State Border Guard Service, as well as protected objects (including checkpoints and control points across the state border, entry-exit checkpoints, temporary locations of units and border details), other service transport, military property, and residential and non-residential premises.

Amendments to the law "On Border Control" define such concepts as "border control zone," "second-line control," and "risk assessment." In addition, the bill proposes to establish the validity period of a passport document for crossing the state border (according to procedures defined by the Schengen Code).

Among the authors of the bill are Yuriy Zdebsky, Mariia Mezentseva-Fedorenko (Servant of the People faction), and Solomiya Bobrovska (Holos).