The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has called on the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine to completely withdraw amendments to weaken the independence of supervisory boards from the charters of both NPC Ukrenergo and other state-owned companies (the GTS Operator of Ukraine and Ukrhydroenergo).
Maksym Khlapuk, a member of the Verkhovna Rada Energy Committee, has written this on his Facebook page, the Ukrainian News agency reports.
“I received a copy of a letter from the EBRD to the Ministry of Energy (attached below), in which the bank noted that the introduction of a qualified majority requirement for decisions by the supervisory board increases the risk of political influence on the appointment of management and is a step back in the reform of corporate governance,” Khlapuk writes.
The MP noted that the EBRD is the largest creditor of NPC Ukrenergo, and other international financial institutions that finance (including as donors) the Ukrainian energy system are guided by its position.
NPC Ukrenergo, as well as the GTS Operator of Ukraine, are currently in the process of competitive selection of new managers, and the Ministry of Energy, contrary to Ukraine's international obligations, seeks to gain manual control over these companies by strengthening its influence in their supervisory boards.
The changes made by the Ministry of Energy to the Charters of Ukrenergo and the GTS Operator of Ukraine do not meet international standards and best practices of corporate governance and pose risks both for the companies' activities and for the next heating season - and therefore must be canceled.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) sent a letter to the Government of Ukraine warning about the termination of loan programs for NPC Ukrenergo due to uncoordinated changes to the company's charter, made at the initiative of the Ministry of Energy.
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