Latest news with #BudgetCode
Yahoo
13-06-2025
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Former US envoy for Ukraine Volker: Minerals deal won't bring Ukraine money soon but will shift rhetoric in US
Former US Special Envoy for Ukraine Kurt Volker has said that the newly signed Ukraine-US agreement on cooperation in the field of minerals and natural resources will not yield immediate financial results but plays an important political role. Source: Volker on 13 June during the GLOBSEC-2025 forum in Czechia Details: Volker recalled that the agreement involves the creation of a Recovery Fund, which is expected to receive revenues from future natural resource extraction licences in Ukraine. However, he noted that "the reality is: nothing will go into this fund... for years and years". Instead, he explained that the main purpose of the deal is to shift the narrative in the US – moving away from portraying Ukraine as a charity case and towards a vision in which it can "repay" the aid and provide compensation in the future. Volker stated that "the Biden administration has been spending taxpayers' money limitlessly and having no strategy". Meanwhile, now, he added, there is a strategy, and "a way Ukraine can pay them [the US – ed.] back". He stressed that any financial return from this initiative would only be possible after the war ends and following years of investment in the extraction sector. Commenting on the investment outlook, Volker stated that large parts of Ukraine remain safe for business and that many of the barriers to investors stem not from the war but from the country's business climate. Volker said that it is necessary to clearly identify what is hindering economic development and remove these obstacles. Background: On 8 May, Ukraine's parliament ratified the so-called minerals agreement with the US and approved the creation of a joint Ukrainian-American reconstruction investment fund. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the law on 12 May. On 13 May, Ukraine signed two commercial agreements with the US International Development Finance Corporation as part of the implementation of the ratified investment fund deal. On 4 June, Ukraine's parliament approved amendments to the Budget Code to enable the implementation of the US-Ukraine mineral resources agreement. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
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Ukraine passes Budget Code changes to implement US mineral deal
Ukraine's parliament approved key amendments to the Budget Code on June 4 to implement the landmark minerals agreement with the United States, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak announced. The legislation, supported by 309 members of parliament, enshrines financial provisions critical to executing the U.S.-Ukraine deal signed on April 30 and ratified by Kyiv on May 8. The agreement grants the U.S. special access to strategic mineral development projects in Ukraine, including lithium, titanium, and rare earth elements vital to defense, aerospace, and green energy industries. The approved changes require Ukraine to contribute 50% of revenues from several sources to the fund. These include rent payments for mineral extraction from new licenses, fees from new subsoil use permits, and proceeds from state production shares under new production-sharing agreements. The funds will be collected in a dedicated budget account and transferred to the Reconstruction Investment Fund at the discretion of the fund's chief administrator. The fund will be co-managed by Ukraine and the U.S. under an equal partnership model. Washington will be represented by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), while Kyiv will be represented by Ukraine's Public-Private Partnerships Agency. The agreement marks a new phase in U.S.-Ukraine economic cooperation and has been months in the making. Protracted negotiations led to the removal of controversial provisions that Ukrainian officials feared could allow for exploitation of Ukraine's natural resources. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said in April that future U.S. military aid could be counted as contributions to the fund, though previously allocated assistance will not apply. Read also: Inside Russia, calls for peace come with conditions — and Kremlin talking points We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
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Ukraine's Parliament adopts amendments to Budget Code for mineral agreement with US
The Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) has adopted a final version of a law amending the Budget Code to implement a mineral agreement between Ukraine and the United States. Source: Yaroslav Zhelezniak, First Deputy Head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Tax and Customs Policy, on Telegram Details: Draft law No 13256 was passed in its second reading on 4 June, with 309 MPs voting in favour. Zhelezniak reported that the text of the bill remained largely unchanged between the first and second readings. The final version proposes that half of the national and local budget revenues from payments related to the use of subsoil resources for extracting minerals identified as assets of the US-Ukraine Investment Fund be transferred to the special fund of the state budget. Ukraine's contribution will consist of 50% of the proceeds received after the agreement enters into force, specifically from: royalties on the extraction of natural resources (oil, gas, gas condensate, and everything listed in Annex A of the agreement) from new licences; the issuance of new special permits for subsoil use; the sale of the state's share of production under new production sharing agreements. "These funds will be credited to the special fund of the state budget and, by decision of the chief administrator (presumably the Ministry of Economy), will be transferred to the Recovery Fund," Zhelezniak said. The bill also specifies that income related to natural resource assets includes only revenue derived from or in connection with the issuance of new licences or permits after the agreement takes effect and/or from operating licences or permits issued before the agreement but not previously used for commercial purposes. Background: On 1 May, Ukraine's Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko and US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent signed a minerals deal. On 8 May, the Verkhovna Rada ratified the agreement establishing a joint investment fund between Ukraine and the US. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the ratification of the mineral deal with the US on 12 May. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
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Ukraine Reforms Tracker Weekly — Issue 25
Editor's note: This is issue 25 of Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak's weekly "Ukraine Reforms Tracker" covering events from May 5–May 11, 2025. The digest highlights steps taken in the Ukrainian parliament related to business, economics, and international financial programs. The Kyiv Independent is republishing with permission. Ukraine misses customs reform deadline, jeopardizing IMF commitments Ukraine's government has failed to launch the reboot of the State Customs Service, risking a key International Monetary Fund structural benchmark and putting up to $1.3 billion in international aid at risk. Despite a legal requirement to form a selection commission for the new head of customs by Jan. 1, the Finance Ministry has not acted. According to MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak, the delay is being orchestrated by Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko and the Government Committee led by Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko, reportedly under direct instructions from the President's Office to block the reform. The continued inaction not only violates Ukrainian law but undermines commitments to the IMF, U.S., and World Bank, who have already disbursed funding tied to the reform. The IMF deadline for appointing a new customs chief by end-June 2025 is now considered unrealistic, raising the risk of future funding being withheld. G7 backs ARMA reform bill, but parliament fails to add it to agenda again The G7 ambassadors have voiced support for draft law #12374-d, aimed at overhauling Ukraine's Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA). The bill was developed under the leadership of MP Anastasiia Radina and is required under the EU's Ukraine Facility program. Despite international backing, the bill was not included in this week's parliamentary agenda. Ukraine already missed the March 31 deadline for passage, putting 300 million euros in EU funding at risk. Moreover, ARMA publicly questioned the bill, claiming international partners had raised concerns — an assertion at odds with the G7's public endorsement. Ukraine ratifies U.S. critical minerals agreement, advances supporting legislation On May 12, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the ratification of the critical minerals agreement between Ukraine and the United States, following unanimous support from all parliamentary factions. Last week, parliament also passed in the first reading draft law #13256, which introduces amendments to the Budget Code to implement the agreement's provisions. Read also: Ukraine, US sign additional agreements for minerals deal, Economy Ministry says We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
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Parliament backs amendments for implementing US minerals deal in 1st reading
The Ukrainian parliament supported Budget Code amendments to implement the minerals agreement with the U.S. in the first reading, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said on May 13. This marks another step toward enacting the wide-ranging and long-contested economic agreement between Ukraine and the U.S. The minerals deal, signed on April 30 and ratified by Ukraine on May 8, establishes a Reconstruction Investment Fund jointly managed by Kyiv and Washington and gives the U.S. special access to projects developing Ukraine's vast deposits of critical minerals, including lithium, titanium, and rare earth elements. "Amendments to the Budget Code are needed to implement the provisions on funding the U.S.-Ukrainian Reconstruction Investment Fund," lawmaker Roksolana Pidlasa said. Ukraine's contribution will consist of half of the funds received after the agreement enters into force and will be sourced from rents for resource extraction under new licenses and issuance of new permits, the lawmaker added. The changes were supported by 286 lawmakers, Zhelezniak said, adding that the deadline for submitting additional amendments was cut short. Ukrainian legislation has to pass two readings in the parliament and receive presidential signature before entering into force. Read also: 'Not what Putin was expecting' — What we know (and don't know) about Ukraine, Russia peace talks in Istanbul We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
