Today, on 13 May, the Verkhovna Rada supported as a basis the draft law No. 13256 on amendments to the Budget Code to implement the agreement with the United States on minerals.
According to MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak, 286 MPs voted in favour at the first reading. He noted that the second reading is expected in early June.
Earlier today, Roksolana Pidlasa, Chair of the relevant committee, said that amendments to the Budget Code are necessary to implement the provision on filling the US–Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund.
She noted that Ukraine’s contribution would consist of half the funds received after the agreement comes into force:
- royalties for the extraction of minerals (oil, gas, gas condensate and all items specified in Annex A to the agreement) from new licences,
- issuance of new special permits for subsoil use,
- sale of the state’s share of production under new production sharing agreements.
The Head of the Committee stated that this money would be credited to a special fund of the state budget and, by decision of the main administrator (presumably the Ministry of Economy), would be transferred to the Reconstruction Fund.
She noted that the expected amount of Ukraine’s contribution is about UAH 3 billion over five years — at least, had the agreement been signed in 2019, this is the amount that would have been transferred to the Fund by now as Ukraine’s contribution.