Under the guise of the draft law ‘On the Eastern Mining and Processing Plant’, Ukraine risked finding itself in a situation where valuable land from the forest, water or agricultural reserves could be appropriated without restriction for the construction of energy facilities. However, most of the controversial amendments were omitted from the final version, although the threat to the environment has not been completely eliminated.
According to a statement by the ‘Golka’ civic initiative, Bill No. 15122 was passed at its second reading in its amended form.
Parliament listened to the public
Andriy Gerus, the author of the controversial amendments and chair of the Energy Committee, has openly stated that the draft bill was amended in response to public calls regarding the Carpathians.
The final version excludes the simplified procedure for wind and hydroelectric power stations, as well as high-altitude sites at over 1,000 metres above sea level. ‘Holka’ considers this to be the first instance in which the requirements of a petition calling for the preservation of the Carpathians have been enshrined in legislation. As EcoPolitics previously reported, the petition gathered the required number of signatures within five days, and the President instructed the government and the National Security and Defence Council to look into the matter.
Land belonging to the water resources fund, as well as valuable forest areas and those territories where Red List species have been recorded, have also been spared from the threat of unregulated development.
However, the threats remain
Environmental experts have nevertheless found that the adopted bill still contains controversial provisions which could pose a threat to the environment and provide grounds for breaches of the law.
Specifically, this concerns land designated for recreational use, which is not included in the list of exceptions. Consequently, the risk of unregulated development on land designated for parks and public gardens has not gone away.
Simplified procedures for the siting and construction of solar power stations and gas-fired power plants will also continue to apply.
Breach of the rules
The approach adopted by the legislators has caused particular outrage. In essence, the draft bill on the Eastern Mining and Processing Plant had absolutely no connection to the amendments tabled for the second reading. ‘Holka’ points out that this constitutes a direct violation of Article 116 of the Verkhovna Rada’s Rules of Procedure and the Constitution of Ukraine. Activists point out that attempts were also made to undermine the independence of the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) through provisions in a bill on an entirely different subject.
"The Constitution enshrines the principle of the rule of law. Compliance with the Rules of Procedure is not a mere formality, but a constitutional duty of Parliament, ensuring at least a basic level of anti-corruption and public scrutiny of its work. Amendments to the draft must be relevant to the subject matter of its legal regulation. In the case of draft law No. 15122, the amendments proposed by Gerus did not relate to the Eastern Mining and Processing Plant at all,” emphasised Heorhiy Mohylnyi, an analyst at the civil society initiative “Holka”.
The community is convinced that if Parliament’s Rules Committee continues to ignore such breaches, it will set a dangerous precedent.
EcoPolitic wrote about the harmful amendments that parliament attempted to push through in Bill No. 15122 in a separate article.
