G7 ambassadors insist that the BES reform should meet EU and IMF requirements

The ambassadors of the G7 countries sent a letter to the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk, in which they insist that the reform of the Bureau of Economic Security should include a reboot of its leadership through a transparent competition and verification of the integrity of other employees of the body, Ekonomichna Pravda reports.

A copy of the letter is at the disposal of the EP editorial board.

Thus, in their letter, the G7 ambassadors reminded that, according to the European Commission's report on enlargement policy of November 8, 2023, Ukraine should "introduce legislation that will allow for a competitive, transparent selection of a new head and other employees of the bureau, including reliable verification of their integrity."

The BES reboot is also one of the requirements of Ukraine's memorandum of cooperation with the IMF.

According to the ambassadors, in order for Ukraine to fulfill these requirements, the BES reform should include the following elements:

1. An open, competitive and transparent competition for the position of the new director of the BES, including integrity checks;
2. An independent audit of the BES's activities one and three years after the appointment of the new director;
3. Eliminating the possibility of dismissal of the BES head by the Cabinet of Ministers, instead leaving it to the conclusions of an independent assessment;
4. Re-certification of all BES employees and appointment of new ones according to a transparent and legally regulated procedure.

"We emphasize that the adoption of any draft law without these elements will negatively affect the country's fiscal stability and its fulfillment of the IMF program and European integration," the G7 ambassadors said in a letter.

They also emphasize that they oppose any clauses in the BES reform law that undermine the independence of other institutions.

In addition to Stafanchuk, the G7 ambassadors sent copies of the letter to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, the Ministers of Economy and Justice, as well as the heads of the Verkhovna Rada committees and the head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak.

The daybefore, it became known that the law enforcement and tax committees of the parliament agreed on the government's version of the BES reform bill, which was opposed by Ukrainian business associations.

Yaroslav Vinokurov