Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada has passed at second reading bill No. 6229 on the provision of transparency in extractive industries.
An Interfax-Ukraine correspondent has reported that 244 deputies backed the document.
The new bill obliges companies in extractive industries to disclose information about volumes of production and payment of royalties, land fees, environment tax and information about the ultimate beneficiaries in their reports.
As reported, the bill, the authors of which are 21 MPs, was drawn up to give access to the public to the full and unbiased information about payments of economic entities operating in extractive industries, to have an opportunity of discussing the issues linked to the use and management of mineral resources of national importance by the state and territorial communities.
The bill introduces international standards and best practices of disclosing information in extractive industries to meet the initiative to ensure transparency in extractive industries. These standards are being introduced in 51 countries, including Kazakhstan, Norway, the U.K., Germany and the United States.
