The Rada in the first reading approved the bill on limiting the state debt of Ukraine

The Verkhovna Rada in the first reading voted for a bill limiting the public debt of Ukraine. The document, among other things, proposes to limit the right of the Ukrainian parliament to apply for a change in the state budget and transfers a number of powers of the Verkhovna Rada to the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, said Rada deputy Irina Gerashchenko in Telegram.

“This bill is unconstitutional, because it takes away from the Verkhovna Rada the right to submit changes to the budget without the consent of the Ministry of Finance, takes away a number of powers and transfers them to the government,” Ms. Gerashchenko wrote.

The MP called the norms of the bill restricting the Parliament dangerous. She said that during the discussion of the document, some deputies drew attention to the need to strengthen the controlling role of parliament and return the practice of the government hour, when members of the Verkhovna Rada ask questions to the Cabinet.

Ms. Gerashchenko said that 233 deputies supported the bill in the first reading, including members of the Servant of the People, Holos and Opposition Platform – For Life parties. “It’s time to bring journalists back to the sidelines. Maybe that will stop some from mindless voting!” – concluded the deputy.

Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada Yaroslav Zheleznyak clarified in Telegramthat the bill adopted in the first reading fulfills two “structural beacons” of the International Monetary Fund. According to him, the document, in particular, restores medium-term budget planning from January 1, 2024, and also provides that in 2023-2028 the maximum amount of state guarantees provided by government decisions cannot exceed 3% of planned state budget revenues.

The state debt of Ukraine by the end of June is $125.61 billion, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance. As explained in the Verkhovna Rada, after the start of the military conflict with Russia, Ukraine’s public debt in foreign currency equivalent increased by a third (+$31 billion). At the same time, 85% of the growth is external debt, which is provided on “exclusively favorable terms.” Creditors of Ukraine have postponed payments on external debt until 2027. Ukrainian authorities allow payment of part of the public debt at the expense of blocked assets.

Erdni Kagaltynov