The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) welcomes the steps taken by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (VRU) to institutionalize virtuous lobbying in Ukraine and the adoption of the relevant draft Law "On Virtuous Lobbying" (Reg. No. 10337) in the first reading on January 10, 2024.
The MPs noted the need to finalize the draft law prepared by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (CMU) to comply with the recommendations of the Council of Europe and the European Commission and bring it in line with international standards.
The draft law will be finalized in the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Policy within the framework of a working group with the wide involvement of MPs, national and international experts, and a representative of the NACP. The working group includes Anastasiia Zernova, Head of the Department for Organization of Work with Stakeholders and Ensuring Adoption of Anti-Corruption Policy Acts.
As a reminder, in accordance with clause 3 of the Action Plan to Prevent the Abuse of Undue Influence by Persons with Significant Economic and Political Weight in Public Life (oligarchs), the NACP is responsible for developing and supporting the draft law on lobbying in the Verkhovna Rada. That is why, since 2022, it has been working on developing the relevant legislative and expert framework as well as collecting best international practices.
Thus, in July 2023, the NACP submitted legislative proposals to regulate lobbying to the Council of Europe and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for expert evaluation. The recommendations provided by international partners are important for the adoption of an effective law.
In addition, in December 2023, NACP Head Oleksandr Novikov, who heads Ukraine's delegation to GRECO, met with its President, Marin Mrcela, to discuss the need to adopt a law on lobbying.
