Does not limit Ermak's advisors. How the new law on lobbying becomes an imitation of the work of people's deputies before the EU

Diamond rings for those who buy them during the war may become cheaper this year.

All thanks to the people's deputies. In December, at the second attempt, they abolished the 10% levy on compulsory state pension insurance for jewelry sales.

People’s Deputy Motovilovets pushed through this amendment after “servant” Alexander Sova, in particular, failed to implement identical changes in 2020. The latter owns the fashionable jewelry brand SOVA, whose advertising is plastered throughout the center of Kyiv.

Thanks to this collection, 663 million UAH were received for pensions in 2023. Because of the aforementioned law, this year this money will not be received by the pension fund, but by jewelers and their clients - including the people’s deputy “servant” - who will put it in their pockets.

This is not the only case when Motovilovets “sorries” a wealthy business during the war. Now he is pushing bill No. 9573. If it is accepted, 5 million UAH from the budget should be paid to a specific TIS company and some of its industry colleagues. The Ukrainians can certainly calculate for themselves how much this is in drones for the front.

All this can hardly be called “creating conditions for doing business.” Rather, it’s the people’s deputy’s work for specific companies and names. Even more precisely, a typical example of shadow lobbying in action.

Examples of this phenomenon both at the level of parliament and the President’s Office can be listed endlessly. Just look at the numerous attempts through legislative changes to exonerate specific defendants in corruption schemes from responsibility on the instructions or under the leadership of the notorious deputy head of the OP Oleg Tatarov.

The new bill No. 10337 on lobbying should make such “schemes” impossible. In January, the Rada already adopted it in the first reading. However, this is only a declarative goal. In fact, this bill not only does not solve this problem, it creates new ones. 65 public organizations have already announced this.

We at the Anti-Corruption Center (ACC) received access to amendments to the bill from representatives of various factions of the Rada. Next, these amendments should be considered by the relevant committee on legal policy, after which people’s deputies should vote for the bill in the hall.

So, let’s explain what’s wrong with the bill itself and introduce you to the most trashy proposals from the people’s representatives.

Prohibition of destroying corruption schemes as with “balls of 17”

In total, more than 1,296 amendments were submitted to the modest 22-page bill. Most of them are one way or another aimed at oppressing public organizations.

Most of the amendments boil down to the fact that the activities of public organizations aimed at promoting socially beneficial initiatives and reforms (advocacy) are equated to lobbying. If you do not remove the public from the scope of this law, people’s deputies will actually put any (even informal ones - according to amendment No. 2 from Razumkov and company) public initiatives on a par with those who negotiate for Akhmetov and Zhevago.

In practice, the entire public sector that promotes important reforms will register, submit reports, and be subject to audits. However, shadow hidden lobbyists who advance their interests through financial resources and even bribery will simply be able to remain outside the rules.

With other changes, some deputies simply want to make it impossible to expose corruption like the “balls 17” case. More correctly speaking, to prohibit the public from participating in solving problems in any area related to the army. This is edit No. 600 of the “servant” Pavel Frolov and No. 601 of his party colleague Roman Babii.

Let us remind you that after the already legendary article by Yuri Nikolov, we at the CPC, together with our partners in parliament, advocated for changes, thanks to which prices for the purchase of clothing supplies for the Defense Forces are now published in Prozorro - public. As a result, prices for food for the military fell by a third.

There are many more changes that the army needs during war. Everyone who serves today understands that without public inclusion and pressure they are unattainable. The authorities understand this well. But he still wants to keep everything as it is. How she wanted to keep Reznikov in office.

In addition, people's deputy of the former OPZZh Antonina Slavitskaya, known for her connections with the ex-head of the OASC Vovkom, in her edits proposes to automatically classify as lobbyists those public organizations that are financed from international technical assistance projects (edit No. 32).

And in her other edit, she, together with Tkachenko’s “servant,” proposes to deprive the public of the right to participate in competition commissions, public councils or other collegial bodies (edit No. 559). As a result, the adoption of such an amendment will delegitimize the Public Integrity Council, which is now elected in accordance with the law and is preparing conclusions, including regarding Pavel Vovk and his associates from the OASC.

This question has nothing to do with lobbying at all. However, it definitely takes us back to the times of Yanukovych, when citizens did not know at all what was happening inside the authorities and who and how selected candidates for any government positions.

Who will be responsible for violations?

In a separate amendment No. 1144, “servant” Roman Babiy also proposes to introduce administrative liability, namely fines for violation of lobbying, or lobbying without registration. However, the amounts of fines themselves, which do not exceed 3,400 hryvnia, are ridiculous for large businesses or oligarchs and will definitely not restrain outlaw lobbying.

However, if deputies do recognize the public as lobbyists, they will open up new opportunities for the authorities to put pressure on activists. Without the SBU and its departments.

It is worth noting that in addition to the amendments on liability to this law, a separate project on liability for violations related to lobbying has been registered in the Rada - No. 10373. Now it has not yet been considered either by the relevant law enforcement committee or by parliament, even in the first reading. However, it could turn into a separate platform for creating punitive tools for critics of the authorities.

For example, they will extend criminal liability specifically to PAs for minor violations in reports. As they have already extended the mandatory declaration for activists.

After the story of pressure on the BIHUS.info team, and before that, such a story certainly doesn’t look like a fantasy.

So what about Ermak’s advisers?

The lobbying bill does not regulate the activities of shadow lobbyists. For example, numerous advisers to the Office of the President. And that's why it's a big problem.

As our colleagues from CHESNO have already written, most of these advisers are freelance. They do not receive official salaries from the budget and do not submit declarations. Simply put, we have no idea for whom they work and for what money. And how they use their access to the Presidential Office building and “telephone rights.”

At the same time, some of Ermak’s freelance advisers in real conditions have the same or even greater powers than some of the ministers.

A striking example is the participation of freelance advisers Daria Zarivna and Vladislav Vlasyuk in a meeting with US Secretary of State Blinken at the level of ambassador, minister and deputy ministers.

Their “stay” in the United States at that time was confirmed to us by the Foreign Ministry, although without any official delegation. It is unknown who paid for this trip for freelance advisers. Therefore, at whose expense Zarivnaya and Vlasyuk went to meet Blinken remains a mystery.

Returning to the bill. It obliges so-called “lobbyists” to report on their meetings with government officials and clearly declare whose interests they represent. Unlike Ermak’s freelance advisors. As well as any civil servants, on whom the bill imposes only the obligation to report to the head about violations by lobbyists.

Without declaring the income and interests of such “freelance advisers” with unclear interests, the bill, in our opinion, is nothing more than an imitation of a solution to the problem.

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The worst thing here is that this imitation bill will be offered to the EU as the fulfillment of one of their demands for further integration.

And this is not the first time that our Rada is trying to “sell” a dummy to the EU. In 2022, deputies already re-voted the bill on the Constitutional Court, when in the first reading they tried to delay with provisions that would ensure control over the Constitutional Court from the OP.

Therefore, the EU will definitely not miss such a “trick” for the second time.

The head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine, Katarina Maternova, has already stated directly that the EU will ensure that the bill does not harm civil society.

We can only hope that the deputies are smart enough not to disgrace the country again.