Cabinet suggests Rada legalize lobbying
The Cabinet of Ministers has suggested that the Verkhovna Rada legalize lobbying.
The representative of the Cabinet of Ministers in the Verkhovna Rada Taras Melnychuk and the Member of the Verkhovna Rada from the Holos faction Yaroslav Zhelezniak announced this on Telegram, Ukrainian News Agency reports.
"The draft law on virtuous lobbying was approved, which is aimed at implementing the recommendations of the European Commission recorded in the Expansion Package, and is part of the government's anti-oligarchic action plan," he said.
Melnychuk noted that the bill aims to ensure the legal basis of lobbying in Ukraine in accordance with international practices and standards, ensuring legal regulation of interaction of officials of public authorities, local self-government bodies with interested parties and lobbying entities, establishment of transparent mechanisms for ensuring the activities of lobbying entities and officials of state bodies and local self-government bodies and mechanisms for monitoring lobbying activities.
He added that the revised bill takes into account the proposals provided by the coalition of public organizations, in particular, in terms of advocacy. Melnychuk stressed that advocacy is not lobbying and this is clearly recorded in the draft law.
Member of the Verkhovna Rada from the Holos faction Yaroslav Zhelezniak on his Telegram channel also said that the Cabinet of Ministers approved the draft Law "On Virtuous Lobbying and Advocacy in Ukraine."
Zhelezniak said that it established: terminology in the field of lobbying and advocacy; rights and obligations of lobbying entities and advocacy entities; methods of exposure; rules for the ethical behavior of lobbying entities.
The bill also provides for the creation of a Register of Transparency. The holder and administrator of the Transparency Register is the National Agency on Corruption Prevention.
A clear list of information is entered into the Register by a person who intends to register as a subject of lobbying activity and/or an advocacy subject.
The bill provides for the procedure for registration in the Register of Transparency and exceptions to it. It is determined that the information entered into it is public in the part that does not contradict the provisions of the law "On the protection of personal data."
The Register contains information about lobbying contracts, sources of financing, clients and beneficiaries of lobbying (not commercial, state, banking or other information protected by law).
It is provided that access to the Register is open and free.
Mechanisms for monitoring the activities of lobbying and advocacy entities have been defined by monitoring compliance with legislation on lobbying and advocacy issues.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the head of the Servant of the People faction in the Verkhovna Rada, David Arakhamia announced the consideration of a lobbying bill, according to which all relevant organizations and individuals should submit data on their donors and amounts to the NACP.
Arakhamia said that the National Agency on Corruption Prevention will monitor compliance with the norms of the relevant law, if adopted, and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau will investigate the violations. According to him, the High Anti-Corruption Court will consider court cases regarding violations in lobbying.