English as a language of international communication in Ukraine: what it means for Ukrainians

Members of Parliament have finally supported the presidential bill No. 9432, which provides for the official consolidation of the status of English as a language of international communication in Ukraine.

This was reported by Yevheniia Kravchuk, Deputy Head of the Servant of the People faction, Deputy Head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy.

"236 'yes' votes in support of the law means our integration into the civilized world, as well as into the common Western space," she said.

According to the parliamentarian, the President's initiative to introduce English at all levels of public life is extremely important, as it meets our European integration aspirations.

At the same time, she said, the use of English at all levels is a prerequisite for the normal operation of investors in Ukraine, for recovery and tourism.

The MP explained that the draft law defines the categories of civil servants who must speak English.

- Civil servants of category A, heads of local state administrations, their first deputies and deputies; 2 years after the end of martial law to prepare.

- For civil servants of categories B and C, employees of the prosecutor's office, the National Police (senior and middle management), tax and customs authorities, a period of 4 years after the war is set for learning English to obtain the appropriate position.

"Information about cultural events, archival documents, museum exhibits must have an ENG version. Starting today, we have two years to prepare," Kravchuk added.

In addition, she explained, information should be duplicated in English at train stations, bus stations, airports, and in some types of transportation. This will happen in 2 years after the law comes into force.

"The use of English for education in kindergartens and other pre-schools for children. This rule will come into force in September 2026," said Yevheniia Kravchuk.

According to the MP, 337 proposals submitted by MPs were processed before the bill was adopted.

Among the important points, Yevheniia Kravchuk emphasized the following:

- the amendments aimed at expanding the scope of the draft law to other languages were rejected - only English

- some of the rules on the mandatory use of English in certain areas of public life were relaxed (in particular, in the educational process for children of early and junior preschool age, on domestic passenger transportation routes that are not used by a significant number of foreign citizens)

- instructing the Cabinet of Ministers to develop and approve a state targeted program to promote the study and use of the English language in Ukraine within 6 months.

- It is important to note that all payments or allowances for higher level English proficiency provided for by the law will start working only after the termination or lifting of martial law.

Also, the MP said, an amendment was taken into account to support cinemas that use the opportunity to show films in English in the future (the quota is currently set at 10% and remains the same - unchanged).

"Namely, we have provided for such a possibility at the legislative level, so that when showing films in a foreign language (except Russian), the entities will not be afraid of going into the red and the state will support their important initiative for the population. But of course, such expenses will be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers only at the appropriate time. And, of course, this will not affect the Ukrainian broadcasting or dubbing in any way," summarized Yevheniia Kravchuk.