In Ukraine, the subsoil use is currently regulated by a large number of legal acts that need to be updated and unified. This does not simplify the business environment and does not make Ukraine independent of imported energy resources while creating opportunities for corruption.
A new Subsoil Code was developed by the working group at the Ministry of Ecology to introduce the effective regulation of the sector. The document aims to implement the EU Directive 94/22, introduce the best European practices in the field of subsoil use, and regulate all types of subsoil-related economic activities, including mining operations.
“Today, the subsoil use is regulated through an extensive system of legal acts that are often inconsistent with each other. Unnecessary, outdated, and burdensome procedures and permits should be canceled. Instead, the new Code will be a unified document that will reduce regulatory pressure on businesses and restart the industry,” the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine Roman Abramovsky said.
In particular, the new Subsoil Code will allow:
- reducing Ukraine’s dependence on energy imports;
- receiving foreign investments. This will help revive competition and increase the intensity of exploration and mining activities;
- creating additional jobs and filling the budgets of all levels due to taxes and other mandatory payments;
- making a subsoil use permit an asset that may be alienated by subsoil users to third parties;
- making it possible for the state to guarantee the provision of land plots for the industry’s needs.
According to Simon Pow, Expert Team Leader at the EU’s project “New Subsoil Code of Ukraine”, providing the state support will allow introducing more modern and energy-intensive technologies, purchasing more environmentally-friendly equipment, ensuring maximum extraction of minerals from the subsoil, and carrying out mining operations under difficult geological conditions.
To develop the Code, the working group established at the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine as the body responsible for formulating the relevant state policy resumed its activity. The team of the project “New Subsoil Code of Ukraine” funded by the European Union and implemented by the Consortium consisting of Projekt-Consult (Germany), MinPol (Austria), and Better Regulation Delivery Office (Ukraine) experts joined the development of the Code.
Professional associations, in particular, the National Extractive Industries Association of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Association of Sand Miners, the Association of Gas Producers of Ukraine, and the Federation of Employers of Ukraine, also took part in the public discussions of the new draft Code.
Learn more about the Draft Subsoil Code of Ukraine, the Draft Subsoil Code Summary.