The deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine have adopted a bill that proposes amendments to the Budget Code in order to implement the agreement on subsoil resources concluded between Ukraine and the USA. This document has currently been approved only in the first reading, which means it has been accepted as a basis. Bill No. 13256 aims to regulate the procedure for transferring funds from Ukraine to contributions to the joint recovery fund with the USA.
This is reported by Finway
A total of 286 members of parliament voted, including Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a representative of the Holos party, who also noted that the adoption of the document is taking place with consideration of the shortened deadlines for submitting amendments. Earlier, on May 13, the Budget Committee of the Verkhovna Rada supported this bill at the first reading stage. As explained by the committee chair, Roksolana Pidlasa, the amendments to the Budget Code are necessary for the implementation of provisions related to the creation of an investment recovery fund in accordance with the agreement on mineral resources.
Ukraine’s Contribution to the Recovery Fund
According to Pidlasa’s explanations, Ukraine’s contribution will be formed from half of the funds received after the agreement on mineral extraction royalties comes into effect, as well as from new special permits for subsoil use and the sale of part of the products under new agreements.
“This money will be credited to a special fund of the state budget and, by the decision of the main administrator (likely the Ministry of Economy), will be transferred to the Recovery Fund. The figures regarding contributions from Ukraine are about 3 billion UAH over 5 years,”
she noted.
MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak predicts that the second reading of the bill may take place no earlier than the beginning of summer.
“Given the schedule of the Rada, the final vote is possible only at the beginning of June,”
he stated in his Telegram.
Cooperation with the USA in the Field of Subsoil Resources
It is worth noting that on May 12, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed a bill ratifying the agreement with the USA regarding cooperation in the field of subsoil resources and the establishment of an investment fund. This agreement does not require amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine and provides for equal management of the future fund, without recognizing any “debts” owed by Ukraine to the USA.
In the future, Ukraine and the USA plan to sign two more agreements, which will also not require ratification by parliament. The first of these is an agreement on limited partnership regarding the creation of the fund, and the second is an agreement on the “General Partner” concerning the management of the fund.
On May 1, Ukraine and the USA signed an agreement that provides for the establishment of a joint investment fund for the development of Ukrainian subsoil resources. The official text of the document was published on the websites of the Cabinet of Ministers and the White House, listing 57 mineral resources that will replenish the fund. The fund’s operations will only concern new deposits, for which licenses will be issued by Ukraine after the agreement comes into effect, while ownership rights will remain with Ukraine.
Control over the fund will be exercised by a board consisting of three Ukrainian and three American representatives, who will make joint decisions regarding investments and the distribution of funds. It was previously planned that the board would be dominated by representatives from the USA, but this condition was successfully canceled. The fund is planned to be filled in a 50-50 ratio, with the USA able to count new military assistance to Ukraine as their contribution to the fund, while previously provided support will not be counted.