DREAM is a government electronic ecosystem that will provide a single digital route for all recovery projects. That is, all recovery projects, their financing, costs, contractors, donors, beneficiaries, etc. will be stored in one place online and will be available for public monitoring.
In order to test the updated functions of the system, as well as to teach community representatives how to use all the DREAM tools, beta testing is ongoing, and from now on, all interested organizations can join.
Who has already participated in beta testing?
By mid-October, more than 150 administrations had participated in beta testing, which was closed at the time. Among them are the State Agency for Reconstruction and Development of the Infrastructure of Ukraine and all its regional services, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Culture, the KMDA, UNDP, JSC “Ukrzaliznytsia”, as well as 19 OVAs.
In addition to the beta testing itself, offline meetings and webinars were held with the participants, separate chats were held with local self-government bodies, and a news chat “DREAM info” was created.
Following the results of the closed beta testing stages, instructions and recommendations for the use of the DREAM ecosystem for local self-government bodies have already been developed, separate support and communication channels have been created, meetings and presentations are planned in the regions with the participation of the DREAM Project Office and partner organizations.
What’s next?
Beta testing continues and is open to everyone from November 14 – any community, regional and city administration, state enterprise, institution or organization can join. To do this, you need to submit an application by filling out a Google form.
The updated functionality structures the map of each project in accordance with international standards and integrates the stages and issues important to potential donors and investors of restoration. For example, substantiating the urgency of the need, comparing alternative technical solutions and substantiating the choice of solution for implementation, the presence of the project in strategic documents, the presence of the results of a socio-ecological assessment and approaches to its implementation, the presence of documentation for the land plot. In addition, the new functionality integrates indicators that will be critical for project prioritization.
After the completion of beta testing, the official launch of the updated functionality will take place. Follow DREAM and BRDO official channels for the latest information.
The updated DREAM user account is being implemented as a pilot implementation of the low-code platform of a sectoral departmental project management system for the Digital Restoration Ecosystem for Accountable Management (DREAM). The updated platform will provide project initiators with convenient access to work with the DREAM ecosystem, and will also ensure the collection of project data in accordance with the global Open Contracting Data Standard. In addition, updating the platform will help speed up the creation of projects and project ideas, as well as increase the quality of their preparation.
Development of a low-code platform of a sectoral departmental project management system (second-level system) and its pilot implementation for the Digital Restoration Ecosystem for Accountable Management (DREAM) is carried out by Better Regulation Delivery Office supported by Project “Effective Governance through GovTech and Transparency in Ukraine” implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the Government of Germany.
The Unified State Register of Pets will be launched in Ukraine – the Government recently adopted the relevant Resolution.
Information in the register:
The future registry software is being developed by the BRDO team on the Diia.Engine platform.
How will the Registry help pet owners?
During a visit to a veterinarian, any pet owner can voluntarily and free of charge register their pet in the Register.
An animal profile will be formed: data on clinical examination, vaccinations, sterilization, processing and other veterinary manipulations. Such information will be supplemented and updated during each subsequent visit to the veterinarian.
Initially, the registry will contain information about cats and dogs, then the service will be scaled to include other animals.
In addition, it will be possible to record a change of owner, as well as information about the loss or finding of a pet, in the Register.
Why is this important?
The problem of the lack of a nationwide electronic registry of domestic animals and their accounting became especially acute after the start of a full-scale invasion.
During the war, many pets were lost, abandoned or “orphaned”. The lack of an opportunity to quickly obtain information about the owners of animals seriously complicated the process of their return and/or adoption.
A large number of shelters were affected, which were destroyed or damaged. The movement and transfer of animals to other shelters, private keepers and adoptions often happens uncontrolled due to the inability to quickly record data in electronic format and then track them.
The lack of a centralized database of veterinary data significantly increases the risk of spreading diseases and infections in the regions and the general deterioration of the epidemiological situation.
What will change the Unified Register of Pets?
Identification of domestic cats and dogs is a requirement of EU legislation.
The implementation of the Register will bring Ukraine one step closer to the creation of a veterinary passport for an animal in Diya, so that the documents of pets are always at hand.
The Register will also allow:
The functionality of the Register will cover the needs of four main groups of users: pet owners, representatives of veterinary medicine institutions, representatives of communal enterprises and officials of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food and DPSS.
The development of the Register is currently ongoing. After the completion of technical works and testing by veterinarians, the launch of the project will be announced.
The project was created at the initiative of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine and the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection and is being implemented with the participation of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine within the limits and at the expense of the international technical assistance program “Innovation Laboratory for the Support of the Ukraine-EU Association (InnoLabEU )”, which is implemented by the German international cooperation company “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ Ukraine) GmbH” in partnership with the Eastern Europe Fund with the financial support of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Bill No. 9627, adopted by the Verkhovna Rada in the first reading, will help Ukraine attract investments for the implementation of projects for the construction of industrial and energy facilities.
What does the document suggest?
Developed with the participation of the BRDO team, bill No. 9627 simplifies the procedure for changing the purpose of land plots. For this purpose, amendments are being made to the Land Code of Ukraine and the Law of Ukraine “On Regulation of Urban Planning”, in particular:
1. The procedure for establishing and changing the target designation of land plots in territories outside settlements is simplified (if there is no approved urban planning documentation for such territories at the local level) for the placement of:
industrial buildings and warehouses;
agricultural, forestry and fishery buildings;
pipelines, communications and power lines;
complex industrial buildings.
Legislative changes will not apply to:
use of lands assigned to the categories of nature reserve fund and other nature conservation purpose, land of historical and cultural purpose, water fund land, recreational, forestry purpose;
placement of main oil pipelines and main gas pipelines;
placement of enterprises and facilities of enterprises for the enrichment and processing of nuclear materials; waste incineration facilities and furnaces; nuclear power plants.
Such simplification will be in effect during the legal regime of martial law and five years from the date of its termination or cancellation in Ukraine or in the relevant separate area.
2. Information of the urban planning cadastre (for the period before the creation of such a cadastre) will be able to be entered into the Unified State Electronic System in the Field of Construction (EDESSB).
3. Extracts from urban planning documentation will be created using the EDESSB.
4. During the operation of the legal regime of martial law and within five years from the date of its termination or cancellation in Ukraine or in a relevant separate area, it will be allowed to establish and change the purpose of land plots for the above-mentioned purposes in the absence of urban planning documentation at the local level.
What effect will the implementation of the bill have?
Simplifying the procedure for changing the purpose of land plots will contribute to the implementation of investment projects necessary for the rapid and effective recovery of the industry of our country in the post-war period. The implementation of the ZP will be useful not only for attracting private investments, but also for the construction of industrial facilities, which will be built at the expense of budget funds (for example, in the field of development of the defense-industrial complex).
Draft Law No. 9627 was developed by the BRDO team within the EU4busines: SME Policies and Institutions Support (SMEPIS) project, implemented by Ecorys in a consortium with GIZ, BRDO and Civitta.
The government approved Resolution No. 1151 “Some issues of leasing hydrotechnical facilities” developed by the Ministry of Agriculture and the State Fisheries Agency, which BRDO experts participated in writing.
Ukrainian aquaculture has extraordinary potential, and this is a significant change in the regulatory field, which will contribute to the development of the industry.
What does the document provide?
Resolution of the CMU No. 1151 changes the rules for leasing hydrotechnical facilities and approves:
Why are these changes important for entrepreneurs?
Transparent mechanisms for the provision of hydrotechnical structures for aquaculture purposes and hydrotechnical structures of the fishery technological reservoir for use on lease terms are being introduced.
In general, the orders are aimed at simplifying the rules and procedures for concluding standard lease agreements, the forms of which are also approved by a resolution of the CMU. Thanks to this, the legal relations related to the ownerless hydrotechnical structures are finally being settled, which should increase the revenue to the state and local budgets in the future.
The BRDO works on the development of the Ukrainian aquaculture industry within the framework of the project “Improving the Regulatory Environment in the Aquaculture Sector” of the USAID Program for Agrarian and Rural Development – AGRO.
The German Government allocated ad hoc funds to support electronic communication service providers in the de-occupied territories of Ukraine within the ReACT4UA / EU4Business. programme. In total, 70 grants of up to 10,000 euros each will be provided (in hryvnia equivalent) in a transparent application process which starts now.
According to the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, 91 operators in Ukraine are on the verge of bankruptcy because of the evacuation of the population due to military actions and the inability of many Ukrainians to pay for Internet access services due to the increase in unemployment. Even in such difficult conditions, operators are trying to restore networks and provide access to the Internet. Lack of connectivity is a barrier for people to come back to their homes.
“It is necessary to support broadband operators so that they remain in business and can restore Internet connections for citizens, businesses and authorities in the deoccupied territories of Ukraine. For this, Germany provide grants,” explained Hagen Ettner, the Programme Director for ReACT4UA / EU4Business, GIZ.
Those electronic communication service providers that work in the Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Luhansk, and Kyiv (excluding the city of Kyiv) regions can apply for the grant. Priority would be given to those applicants that work or plan to restore working on the deoccupied territories.
The grants will be aimed at meeting the main needs of operators: purchase of equipment and materials, payment of electricity bills, rents, and other payments necessary to maintain the networks, salary of employees. Details are available here.
Application deadline: November 30, 2023 at 23:59 (time of Ukraine).
Application form, eligibility criteria, evaluation process, and other information regarding the grants is available here.
Interested applicants are invited to join the online consultation where clarifications on the application process would be given. The online consultation will be held on November 14, 2023 (Tuesday), 11:00-13:00. Please register here: https://forms.gle/VfYmSkaL7fj3aUG39. The data is gathered and processed by the NGO “Better Regulation Delivery Office”.
For additional information please contact:
Kateryna Parunova, grant manager, [email protected]. Please specify in the subject of the letter “EU4Business Telecom – additional questions”.
Reference information
Non-reversible financial support (grants) to Ukrainian telecommunication operators in de-occupied territories is provided within the international cooperation programme “ReACT4UA (Resilience/Recovery Accession – Competitiveness – Trade) / EU4Business: SME Recovery, Competitiveness and Internationalisation”, initiated by the European Union and the German Government. The grants were made possible by ad-hoc funding from the German Government. The programme aims to support Ukraine’s economic resilience, recovery and growth, create better conditions for the development of Ukrainian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as support innovation and exports.
The strategic implementer of the programme is the German federal company “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH”. The implementing partner is Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO). The support is given by: The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine.
The contents are the sole responsibility of BRDO and do not necessary reflect the views of the European Union and the German Government.
#eu4business, #MovingForwardTogether, #gizSME
On October 31, the presentation of the current version of the public interface for receiving data (Application Programming Interface, API), which provides access to DREAM open data, took place.
The DREAM ecosystem is built on the principle of “everyone sees everything” and aims to ensure full transparency and accountability of restoration projects – from planning to commissioning.
“Open data will be important for recovery management, it is the foundation of trust. Only under conditions of transparency and accountability can we count on financing and support for reconstruction. From the very beginning, the DREAM system was conceived as a case of close cooperation between the state, the public, and international partners — we must continue to work together to improve the system. Open data will help in this,” said Oleksandra Azarkhina, Deputy Minister of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine.
Thanks to АРI, all data on projects established in DREAM became available to professional users who work with analytical tools. Currently, more than 1,700 projects are entered into the system, and the Ministry of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine, the State Agency for Reconstruction and Development of Infrastructure of Ukraine, together with the DREAM Project Office, are working to increase their number.
Much of the data is generated in the low-code platform of a sectoral departmental project management system for the Digital Restoration Ecosystem for Accountable Management (DREAM). The updated platform will provide project initiators with convenient access to work with the DREAM ecosystem, and will also ensure the collection of project data in accordance with the global Open Contracting Data Standard. In addition, updating the platform will help speed up the creation of projects and project ideas, as well as increase the quality of their preparation.
Development of a low-code platform of a sectoral departmental project management system (second-level system) and its pilot implementation for the Digital Restoration Ecosystem for Accountable Management (DREAM) is carried out by Better Regulation Delivery Office supported by Project “Effective Governance through GovTech and Transparency in Ukraine” implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the Government of Germany.
The API is available online.
Video recording of the presentation: https://youtu.be/30MWgHPT_vg
Since the beginning of the year, the Government’s Interdepartmental Working Group on Deregulation has reviewed more than a thousand business permit documents. However, the deregulation reform is not finished there. Further, the IWG will focus, in particular, on the review of instruments at the request of businesses, will work on the deregulation of individual sectors, and will help implement recommendations on the cancellation or optimization of instruments into concrete solutions. This was announced during a joint online event of the Ministry of Economy and the Center for Economic Strategy “Deregulation of business operations. Intermediate results and plans for the future” said the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine – Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko.
“From the beginning of 2023, the government’s Interdepartmental Working Group on Deregulation began a planned review of regulatory tools for business. And now I have reached the end of the list. More than a thousand permit documents were reviewed. Based on the results of the review, we recommended canceling almost a quarter of them, simplifying or digitalizing more than half of them. According to the calculations of the BRDO, the economic benefit for business from the implementation of the recommendations of the Ministry of Economy, for example, in the sphere of regulation of the Ministry of Economy alone, will amount to UAH 1.4 billion. In the agricultural sector – 8.5 billion UAH. More than UAH 250 million – in construction,” said Yuliya Svyrydenko.
Deputy Minister of Economy Oleksii Soboliev spoke in more detail about the further steps of the deregulation reform. In particular, about transferring the system of state supervision and control to a risk-oriented approach.
“We already have a draft of the law “On the basic principles of state supervision (control)”. This will introduce a risk-based approach. That is, if the entrepreneur did not violate anything, then the inspections will not come to him. Also, the next step is to review and optimize the work of inspections,” said Oleksii Soboliev.
“In 2021, more than 200,000 business inspections were carried out, in 2022 – 11,000, and as of the end of October 2023, about 15,000. Of course, there are more inspections this year than in 2022, for which there are objective reasons – business is working. But, despite this, after the introduction of a moratorium on business inspections, their number decreased tenfold and nothing happened. That is, whether it makes sense to return to classic checks that were in effect until February 24, 2022 is a rhetorical question. There is only one conclusion: the format and methods of inspection checks must be changed,” added Oleksii Kucher, Head of the State Regulatory Service of Ukraine.
Oleksii Dorogan, CEO of BRDO, told more about the approaches to determining the priorities of deregulation.
“It is necessary that on a systematic basis every year, based on analysis and surveys of entrepreneurs, we see a graph of how much money entrepreneurs spend. Based on this, you can set goals. It will be possible to see the problematic points and assess how effective deregulation is, whether the authorities have come up with any new regulatory instruments, etc. This work is part of the transition from a temporary solution to systemic work,” Oleksii Dorogan said.
In his presentation, the Senior Economist of the Center for Economic Strategy, Dmytro Goriunov, talked about the stages of the deregulation reform in Ukraine and voiced the recommendations of the Central Committee of Ukraine experts on further measures:
“We recommend focusing on point regulations that have the greatest impact and those that affect the largest number of entrepreneurs, and in search of those, survey businesses about which regulation is the most disruptive. In addition, it is worth very carefully reviewing the regulation of sectors that directly affect the lives of citizens, in particular, occupational health and safety, as well as sectors that do not simply deserve regulation – monopolies, etc.,” noted Dmytro Goriunov.
According to Serhii Vlasenko, the Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, the Ministry is currently working on implementing the recommendations of the Interdepartmental Working Group.
“The deregulation of our Ministry began in December 2022 with fruitful cooperation with the State Regulatory Service. After that, during the work of the IWG on deregulation, we supplemented the list of changes. In particular, we are canceling 61 instruments of state regulation, another 61 have been sent for simplification or digitization. We have already developed a number of NPAs – these are both draft resolutions and draft laws – sent for approval and are already being worked out so that there will be concrete results after the work of the IWG”, said Serhii Vlasenko.
“I am very glad that in the work plans of the IWG there is a general revision of the architecture of supervision and control as such. And our assessment is that the work of the group is super-effective, this gives hope that the state will eventually reform the tax service and customs, and look at the financial market, our economic freedom, our financial freedom. This gives us hope, and let’s move on to reviewing the spheres of supervision and control,” Kyrylo Kryvolap, Executive Director of the Center for Economic Recovery, concluded the discussion.
For reference:
The interdepartmental working group on issues of accelerated revision of instruments of state regulation of economic activity was created by the Government’s Decree on January 13, 2023. The working group, co-chaired by the First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko, included, in particular, representatives of the ministries of economy, digital transformation, protection of the environment and natural resources, justice, finance, as well as the State Regulatory service. Experts from BRDO, the Center for Economic Recovery, the Center for Economic Strategy (with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands), EasyBusiness, the USAID Program “Competitive Economy of Ukraine”, the USAID/UKAid project “Transparency and Accountability in Public Administration and Services/ TAPAS” and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development are involved in the work of the IWG.
BRDO’s joined the work of the IWG within the EU4busines: SME Policies and Institutions Support (SMEPIS) project, implemented by Ecorys in a consortium with GIZ, BRDO and Civitta.
How is the world and Europe synchronizing business growth with the requirements of EPC and other “green” strategies? What problems do domestic representatives of the aquaculture business face? How can the government help Ukrainian manufacturers to overcome the lag behind other manufacturers in the world?
International demand for seafood is growing, and aquaculture plays a key role in meeting it. A few figures to confirm: in 2022, the volume of the world market of the industry was 75.6 million tons, by 2028, according to international experts, it will reach 100.3 million tons. Unfortunately, the Ukrainian market currently lags behind the world market in terms of technological level and growth rate: in 2020, we produced only 0.02% of aquaculture products in the world.
At the same time, the potential of Ukrainian aquaculture is huge, and its development should become one of today’s priority tasks. Mariculture of Ukraine may become a trend of the future, because the natural and climatic conditions of our region ideally contribute to its development.
How is the world and Europe synchronizing business growth with the requirements of EPC and other “green” strategies? What problems do domestic representatives of the aquaculture business face? How can the government help Ukrainian manufacturers to overcome the lag behind other manufacturers in the world?
According to the estimate of the Fisheries Committee of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the average annual consumption of aquatic biological resources and products produced from them in the world in 2018-2020 was 20.5 kilograms per capita, of which almost 52% are aquaculture products. According to forecasts, in 2030 this figure should be 21.2 kilograms.
Today, global aquaculture is technologically driven, becoming more competitive and adaptive, attracting investment and fostering innovation. Growing demand for seafood is driving the market to develop. Aquaculture’s ability to grow a variety of aquatic species in a controlled environment is perfectly aligned with the need for a stable and reliable supply of seafood. This factor provides a significant contribution to global food security and economic growth of successful market players.
In addition to meeting food needs, aquaculture plays a role in restoring the health and sustainability of the marine ecosystem, does not harm it compared to industrial fishing, so it is definitely an important tool of blue transformation. The blue transformation is a set of policies that will allow the world to achieve the goals of a sustainable blue economy. A sustainable blue economy, in turn, is an important component of the global green course in general and the European Green Course (EGC) in particular, necessary to achieve the environmental and climate goals of all humanity. It includes a number of economic directions and corresponding policies, which together determine whether the use of ocean resources meets the requirements of modernity.
Finding a compromise between meeting the needs of water users for aquaculture purposes in marine, brackish and freshwater reservoirs, the efficiency and economy of water use, and ensuring food security are key issues in promoting the sustainable development of the blue economy and aquaculture.
Special attention is paid to aquaculture within the framework of the development of a sustainable blue economy in the EU.
Currently, aquaculture production accounts for only 25% of EU seafood consumption, and EU aquaculture accounts for less than 2% of its global production. However, Europe is determined to change this: the development of a sustainable blue economy is one of the directions of the Green Deal, which today provides 4.5 million jobs in Europe. This direction covers all industries and sectors related to oceans, seas and coasts: shipping, fishing, energy production, ports, shipyards, land-based aquaculture and seaweed production, coastal tourism.
Today, the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) is the main source of funding for innovation, expanding the range of entities that become part of the blue economy. This fund was established in 2021 and will run until 2027. Its work is aimed at supporting the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), the EU’s maritime policy and the EU’s international ocean governance agenda.
The fund’s activities also contribute to the achievement of the UN’s sustainable development goal – “preservation and rational use of oceans, seas and marine resources”, which the EU is committed to fulfilling.
How does EMFAF support aquaculture actors? First of all, additional financing. Entrepreneurs receive money according to the following algorithm:
The procedure may differ slightly in different EU countries, but the general principle of receiving aid is exactly the same. By allocating aid to support aquaculture, the EU hopes for rapid adaptation of aquaculture to modern requirements, the use of cleaner energy sources, reduction of the negative impact of human activity on the seas and oceans, and an increase in the number of developed innovative projects that ensure the sustainable use of water and marine resources.
In the conditions of war, the primary task of Ukraine is to ensure the food security of the population, increase the production of basic food products, etc. However, at the same time, it is necessary to invest resources in the future, in particular, in promoting the development of promising sectors of the economy. In the field of aquaculture, the state should focus on ensuring a harmonious combination of supporting the country’s food security and rational, tireless use of aquatic biological resources.
BRDO is working to improve the regulatory framework in the field of aquaculture. In September, a survey of market entities was conducted, which showed that:
These figures clearly demonstrate the need for effective cooperation between the business of the aquaculture industry and the Ukrainian government. The years 2022-2023, despite the extremely difficult conditions caused by military actions, nevertheless became very productive in terms of legislative changes for the Ukrainian fishing industry in general and aquaculture in particular. In fact, a comprehensive reform of the fishing industry was started, the implementation of which continues today.
Today, the main challenges for Ukrainian aquaculture are:
Lack of sufficient investment is another pressing problem of the industry. Their attraction requires more than attractive sales prospects. Investors, external and internal, demand proper working conditions. And the state must guarantee them. Ukrainian aquaculture needs modern legislation and appropriate regulatory standards, as well as state support. The above-mentioned example of EU aquaculture policy can serve as a benchmark. Implementation of these plans is possible only under the condition of legislative reforms of the industry.
First of all, we are talking about draft law No. 8119, which is aimed at ensuring the openness, publicity and transparency of the procedure for attracting investments in the development of the fishing industry. The creation of new investment legislation will simplify the rental process in the market, introduce mechanisms of equal access to the resource, and at the same time attract additional funds to the market.
The document offers a competitive basis for attracting investments based on investment projects, open auctions and the possibility of obtaining maximum benefits for both the state and business entities.
We also have registered draft law No. 9545. The document proposes to introduce an electronic system of traceability of the origin of fishery and aquaculture products, which will mean the ability to identify any market entity and any regulatory object, record all transactions. The electronic system will cover the process of batch formation and labeling, first sale, transport sales and the possibility of traceability to the final consumer of aquaculture facilities.
Also, the draft law provides for the determination of the main legal, economic and organizational principles for ensuring the traceability of fishery and aquaculture products; introduction into the national legislation of Ukraine of certificates: the origin of aquatic biological resources (Certificate of Origin), catching of aquatic biological resources (Catch Certificate), re-export of aquatic biological resources (Re-export Certificate); introduction of certificates on the processing of traceable aquatic biological resources and/or products from them, which are mandatory for customs clearance of traceable aquatic biological resources and/or products from them during export-import operations and re-export.
In addition, the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses was supplemented with an article on establishing responsibility in the field of traceability of aquatic biological resources and/or their products (ZP No. 9546).
Ukraine is working to create conditions for the development of aquaculture, which is a strategic goal of the state, enshrined in the Strategy for the Development of the Fisheries Industry of Ukraine for the period until 2030. Therefore, in order to achieve the most effective result, we must focus on the implementation of tasks for the implementation of this strategic goal, continue work on the legislative settlement of problematic issues in the sector and the creation of normative and legal regulation that will comply with EU legislation, the principles of the EU Common Fisheries Policy and the EWC.
The material is originally published in Delo.ua
An important step for the Ukrainian fishing industry: eRyba, or the Unified State Electronic Management System for the Industry, has become operational. Resolution of the CMU No. 1076, which made this possible, was developed with the participation of the BRDO team, as well as representatives of academia and NGOs.
❓ What will change?
From now on, business entities that plan to fish on an industrial scale or carry out experimental fishing can declare the right to do so online. The document is created, signed and submitted automatically to eRyba. The service will soon be available on the Diia portal.
The experimental digitalisation project introduced by the resolution will last for 2 years. Business entities have until November 1 to submit a declaration ➡️ https://efish.gov.ua/
❓Why is this important?
Declaring the right to commercial fishing is only the first tool of the electronic system. Soon the following will be available in eRyba:
🔹 declaration of the right to experimental fishing;
🔹 service for obtaining a permit for the special use of aquatic bioresources in fishery water bodies (parts thereof) for industrial fishing, experimental fishing.
The eRyba electronic system will contribute to the development of fisheries and aquaculture in Ukraine. According to experts’ estimates, the market for shadow products in this area currently amounts to UAH 850 million annually – large-scale digitisation will make it possible to get rid of this.
We will remind that the international demand for aquaculture products will only grow: the volume of the world market, which in 2022 was 75.6 million tons, will reach 100.3 million tons by 2028, according to experts’ forecasts. Ukrainian entrepreneurs in the field of fish farming have the potential to become its successful players.
The unified state electronic management system for the fisheries industry and online service was developed by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine and the State Agency of Ukraine for the Development of Land Reclamation, Fisheries and Food Programs of Ukraine in cooperation with the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine with the support of the USAID / UK Aid project “Transparency and Accountability in Public Administration and Services / TAPAS” and Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO).
In Ukraine, unprecedented reconstruction is required. The power of open data can ensure transparency in the process.
An enormous war brings enormous devastation. Ukraine has been repairing damaged critical infrastructure since the start of the war, made possible in part by international financial support. Despite this effort, the amounts required for post-war reconstruction are unprecedented: the World Bank evaluates the country’s total needs at $411 billion.
But that is only half the story. Ukraine’s recovery requires not only funds, but also credibility both inside and outside the country. A lack of public confidence in recovery projects is a risk to political stability; a lack of trust from international partners is a risk to funding availability.
Oversight of infrastructure recovery will be tough, as reconstruction projects have various funding modalities, managers and specifications. Collecting information from official sources, kept in complicated structures, is a daunting task. New digital solutions are required not only to ensure recovery is transparent, but also to enable true accountability.
Digital data enables machine data analysis, the creation of digital solutions, automated tracking, and other essential processes. An open data policy ensures the accessibility of such data by envisaging the proactive publishing of machine-readable data by governments.
In practice, this means that datasets (such as company registry data) are published on a web portal and can be downloaded in their entirety by anyone. There is no need to submit any application forms, explain the reasons for requesting data, wait for approvals, pay for the information or analyse each entry individually. One just needs to go to the website and download a complete dataset or use a convenient service based on the data.
The availability of digital datasets makes it possible to conduct automated data analyses, identify patterns and relationships, and build easy-to-use services for various users. It is useful for civil society, anti-corruption activists and journalists, as well as for ordinary users and citizens. This is the power of open data.
Prior to the war, Ukraine was one of the leading European countries in open data policy implementation
Furthermore, machine-readable data is easier for those who do not speak the language of the data (in this case Ukrainian) to use. After all, digital content can be translated using digital tools.
Before the war, Ukraine was one of the leading European countries in open data policy implementation, having developed laws including the principle of ‘open by design and by default’ even before the EU Open Data Directive was adopted.
For instance, virtually all data on public procurements was publicly available thanks to the ProZorro system. Public finance data was available through the public finance open data platform e-Data. The trade register, financial reporting and hundreds of other essential datasets were also already available in a machine-readable format.
Prior progress in handling open data enables the operation of numerous identity verification platforms, public procurement analysis platforms, court decision search engines, and environmental monitoring services in Ukraine. Statistics from 2021 show that before the war, some 5–7 million users used these services yearly. Thus, Ukrainian e-governance digital platforms that included open data gained international recognition as some of the best digital solutions worldwide.
In the construction sector, which will naturally be a major area of focus during Ukraine’s reconstruction, open data from the State Architectural and Construction Inspectorate of Ukraine has already shown a systematic beneficial effect.
However, martial law has led the government to restrict access to data, and Ukraine has thus regressed in its position as an open data champion. At first, access to the Open Data Portal was completely locked. Then, limited access to certain datasets was restored, and the process of fully restoring data access is now in progress.
Ukrainian civil society organisations have already sent a number of collective letters demanding that key datasets are made public as open data once again. The RISE Ukraine Coalition has released a list of priority datasets to be made public for the purpose of achieving a transparent recovery.
Finding a balance between openness and security is a difficult challenge in times of war, one that is likely to persist even in the post-war period
It is important to recognise – despite the war – that information transparency is essential for corruption prevention, government efficiency, and building confidence in budget allocation. Russia can of course use some information to increase the efficiency of its hostilities against Ukraine, such as information on individuals (especially in the occupied territories) as well as on infrastructure facilities and enterprises. Finding a balance between openness and security is a difficult challenge in times of war, a challenge that is likely to persist even in the post-war period. This is an issue that will require careful analysis, but access to data should not be restricted unnecessarily.
Despite all the ongoing challenges, Ukrainian public agencies are working on digital systems for recovery management. Central to this are the Register of Damaged and Destroyed Property (RDDP) and the Digital Restoration Ecosystem for Accountable Management (DREAM).
The RDDP contains information on property that has been damaged or destroyed due to hostilities. Information is collected directly from affected individuals, including through Diia, a mobile app that enables access to public services and which has taken on a critical role in the lives of Ukrainians since Russia’s full-scale invasion. The government resolution that governs the RDDP specifies that the information must be published as open data.
DREAM is a system for public reconstruction management. It is currently accessible in its baseline version – updates and data collection are in progress. The system will help analyse the basic social and economic performance of a region or settlement, create reconstruction projects to address existing issues, find funding and manage the whole cycle of project implementation. ‘The new IT system will allow tracking the entire cycle of an infrastructure project from design, public procurement, construction, reconstruction, and repair to commissioning of finished facilities’, promises Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov.
To build trust, public authorities are working on DREAM together with civil society organisations, including the RISE Ukraine Coalition. As announced, DREAM is being designed based on the principle of ‘open by design and by default’, with the system’s digital and legal architecture enabling the publication of open data to ensure that both Ukrainian society and international partners will have free access to digital data on reconstruction projects.
Ukraine’s recovery will be an immense task. Ensuring that the process is transparent is a prerequisite for accountability and public and international confidence. To achieve this, it is necessary to employ solutions and approaches that have shown their efficiency in Ukraine – and in which Ukraine has shown global leadership. Innovative digital approaches to transparency have a track record of success in Ukraine; open data should thus become the foundation of digital transparency during the recovery process, while recognising that the public availability of certain information may pose additional security risks. Finding the right balance will be one challenge among many for Ukraine, but one that it must overcome to unlock the power of open data and bring transparency to the reconstruction process.
This material was originally published at RUSI.org
Today, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the resolution “On the implementation of an experimental project on the introduction of the declaration of the right to commercial fishing and experimental fishing in electronic form.” This resolution introduces a mechanism for declaring the right to commercial fishing and experimental fishing in electronic form.
What is changing?
The specified processes will be carried out using the means of the Unified state web portal of electronic services or the Unified state electronic management system of the fishery industry.
The approval of the resolution will facilitate the fulfilment of obligations by business entities regarding:
During the implementation of the experimental project, it will be possible to submit declarations every year until November 1 remotely in electronic form and free of charge using one of the components of the Unified state web portal of electronic services or the Unified state electronic management system of the fishery industry.
In addition, thanks to the introduction of such electronic declarations, economic entities will have the opportunity to participate in future auctions for the sale of rights to conclude contracts for the right to special use of aquatic biological resources and obtain a permit for the special use of aquatic biological resources. On the other hand, state bodies receive an effective tool for determining the number of potential users of aquatic biological resources and their material and technical support.
We thank the Government for the adoption of an unprecedented document for the Ukrainian fishery industry and look forward to its successful implementation.
The draft resolution was developed by specialists of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine and the State Agency of Land Reclamation and Fisheries of Ukraine, BRDO, as well as representatives of academic circles and public organisations.
Deregulation of the market for medical cannabis and technical hemp will soon become a reality.
Recently, the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on issues of national health, medical care and medical insurance recommended the draft law on medical cannabis No. 7457 for the second reading.
The draft law is aimed at implementing the best practices in the field of regulation of restricted circulation of cannabis, cannabis resin, extracts and tinctures of cannabis, as well as tetrahydrocannabinol (its isomers and their stereochemical variants), which will allow to create conditions for increasing patients’ access to the necessary treatment and conducting scientific research on the effectiveness of cannabis. The draft law regulates the use of cannabis not only for medical purposes, but also for industrial purposes, as well as scientific and scientific-technical activities.
BRDO has for several years been actively emphasizing the need to address the issue of medical cannabis and the decriminalization of industrial (industrial) hemp. The BRDO team participated in the development of the draft law No. 7457 and participated in the Interdepartmental Working Group on the deregulation, in particular the market of technical hemp, with the main goal of removing the market of technical hemp from the general regulation of narcotics.
Bill No. 7457 proposes to:
The issue of regulating the circulation and use of cannabis in Ukraine needs a positive solution for a long time, because the passionate discussion about it in Ukrainian society has been going on for many years. We call on people’s deputies to support draft law No. 7457 in the second reading.
At this week’s meeting, the Interdepartmental Working Group on Deregulation considered the requirements for businesses in Ukrainian legislation regarding mandatory insurance. According to the working group, some of them are impractical and complicate the work of entrepreneurs.
Based on the results of the discussion, the following recommendations were adopted regarding the cancellation of mandatory insurance:
The meeting also considered the possibility of canceling some requirements of the state building regulations. The representatives of mobile communication operators addressed the IWG with a request for this.
In particular, it is about mandatory installation:
The business notes that the installation of such equipment is contrary to the Fire Safety Regulations in the field of communication and causes burdensome costs. In practice, operators do not have an objective need to install such systems and tools, since mobile communication equipment is low-power and completely safe in terms of ignition characteristics. Before making a final decision on this matter, the IWG decided to conduct additional studies.
BRDO joined the work of the IWG within the EU4busines: SME Policies and Institutions Support (SMEPIS) project, implemented by Ecorys in a consortium with GIZ, BRDO and Civitta.
At the end of September, the Ukraine Infrastructure Reconstruction Reverse Trade Mission, organized by the U.S., took place in the United States. Trade and Development Agency, which was attended by a delegation of representatives of the Ukrainian government, business, and expert circles in the field of economic reforms and investments.
The task of the delegation was to discuss the reconstruction of Ukraine with American colleagues – government officials, politicians, investors – and jointly form a clear understanding of effective ways to support the future recovery of the economy and trade in our country.
BRDO CEO Oleksii Dorogan and BRDO Regulatory Policy Sector Head Hanna Bashniak were invited to become members of the delegation.
What is USTDA’s reverse trade mission?
USTDA (US Trade and Development Agency) helps companies create jobs in the USA by exporting US goods and services for priority infrastructure projects in developing economies. This government agency connects American business with foreign customers who need its product. Building such partnerships develops sustainable infrastructure and promotes economic growth for both parties.
Reverse trade missions are a tool that USTDA uses for this. Considering reconstruction as a large-scale investment project, this time the Americans invited Ukrainian representatives to Washington on a reverse trade mission.
Who represented Ukraine and the USA?
The Ukrainian delegation consisted of representatives of the Ministries of Energy, Economy, Social Policy, Agrarian Policy and Food, Digital Transformation, State Energy Efficiency Agency, as well as the Agency for recovery and development of Ukraine’s infrastructure. Business and expert environment were represented by BRDO, ISE Group, ISSP Ukraine, Agrosem, UkraineInvest, Ukrainian Wind Energy Association.
On the American side, employees of state institutions, analytical institutes, the Senate, consulting firms, businesses, etc. communicated with the Ukrainian delegation.
What was discussed as part of the reverse trade mission?
During several days in Washington, the key issues of Ukraine’s recovery and opportunities for American decision makers to help us in solving them were discussed. In particular, the following topics were touched upon:
Separate consultations concerned the sectors of the economy and public administration in Ukraine, which, despite the war, can improve their work in partnership with American institutions: it was about digital transformation, energy, infrastructure, agriculture, etc.
Based on the results of the work of the Ukraine Infrastructure Reconstruction Reverse Trade Mission, we reached a common understanding on the priority directions of the necessary regulatory and legislative changes to create a favorable business climate, and a partnership was launched for the implementation of Ukraine reconstruction projects.
How to simplify the activities of transport entrepreneurs?
An important step is the cancellation or optimization of certain types of reporting that businesses must regularly submit to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine. The review of 9 forms of mandatory reporting in the field of social security was recently carried out by the BRDO team with the support of the USAID program “Competitive Economy of Ukraine”.
What problems were identified by analysts?
How can problems be solved?
In order to discuss the results of the analysis, an online meeting organized by the State Regulatory Service of Ukraine was held recently. Representatives of economic entities in the field of transportation, the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, the Institute of Economics and Forecasting, as well as the expert environment, joined the discussion.
The purpose of the meeting is to make informed decisions regarding the expediency, reasonableness and order of actions proposed by the experts regarding the optimization of reporting in the field of transportation. BRDO experts proposed to make the reporting itself more relevant (forms, procedure, submission deadlines), as well as some statistical methodologies.
After discussing BRDO’s proposals with stakeholders, representatives of the State Statistics Service agreed with the expediency of deregulation initiatives. Work on their implementation in practice has already begun – so we hope that carriers will soon feel the effect of reducing regulatory pressure.
The review of 9 forms of mandatory reporting in the field of social security took place within the framework of the large-scale deregulation reform that has been ongoing in Ukraine since January 2023. With the support of the USAID Program “Competitive Economy of Ukraine”, the BRDO prepares analytics on the expediency of maintaining or canceling regulations, participates in meetings of the IWG on deregulation and the development of relevant legal acts.