Ukraine Enacts Lobbying Law to Enhance Transparency and Business Relations

The event was opened by the Honorary President of the Ukrainian Association of Lobbyists, Managing Director of SIC Group USA LLC consulting company, founder of the Lobby Club office in Washington, and communications expert Katerina Odarchenko. In her speech, Katerina emphasized the importance of adopting the lobbying law and highlighted it as an important step towards democracy and the adoption of European standards in Ukraine. However, she pointed out that the law has certain imperfections that need to be addressed.

"Our goal is not only to improve the draft law itself but also to develop the sphere of transparent dialogue with the authorities and advocacy," Katerina Odarchenko emphasized. She hopes that the draft law will not just be another PR document but a real step towards Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration.

Participants discussed problematic issues related to the "Ethical Lobbying Law" adopted earlier this year. Its aim is to establish clear rules for all lobbying activities, create a lobbyist registry, and specifically define categories that can be interpreted as lobbying.

Adoption of this law was a requirement to start negotiations for Ukraine's accession to the European Union. However, currently the law is not operational for various reasons, notably due to the absence of a lobbyist registry. Participants also discussed lobbyists' rights. MP Victoria Hryb stressed that the current law is declarative in terms of empowering lobbyists with transparent influence mechanisms, leaving lobbying at the level of "private conversations" with officials. She emphasized that clear definition of lobbyists' rights would help solve this issue.

The issue of transparency was also highlighted by Ukrainian MP Ivan Krulko. He emphasized that currently the government is pressuring businesses through various mechanisms, which does not contribute to the development of transparent dialogue between government, business, and society, especially during wartime.

Representatives of the NGO "Investor Protection", including Denis Shynkarenko, supported colleagues' comments regarding the lack of open and transparent dialogue between government, business, and society. He cited the case of "Royal Pay Europe", a Latvian e-commerce company, which was unjustly included in sanctions due to alleged ties with the Russian bookmaker "1xBet". This case illustrates the lack of transparent and open communication between the state and business.

The formal reason for this was a lawsuit by the Ministry of Justice, which contained accusations that "Royal Pay Europe" allegedly cooperated with the bookmaker company 1xBet, which operates in Russia and pays taxes to the aggressor country. As evidence, the Ukrainian agency used a journalistic publication that was not supported by any facts and was based only on the subjective opinion of the author.

In fact, the media material without any evidence became the reason for unauthorized accusations and falsification of facts regarding an honest Latvian company, which aimed to invest in Ukraine and its economic market. The so-called arguments of the Ministry of Justice were not checked by law enforcement, and the case immediately went to court.

The story of "Royal Pay Europe" is not unique in illustrating the problem of the lack of open and transparent dialogue between the government and business. This is why it is necessary to address the shortcomings of the law, a sentiment echoed by MPs, representatives of professional associations, and businesses present at the event. Laws should work for the benefit of the state and society, and this is the foundation of a successful European democratic country.