G7 Ambassadors have welcomed the proposal of the Verkhovna Rada's MPs to restore submission of asset declarations for public officials and local government representatives.

The ambassadors referred to electronic declaration as a vital anti-corruption measure for Ukraine and an essential step on its path towards the EU.

"G7 Ambassadors welcome the initiative of MPs to restore submission of asset declarations and ensure maximum transparency (with only limited, proportionate, and clearly defined exceptions related to martial law)," the joint Twitter statement read.

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G7 Ambassadors welcome the initiative of MPs to restore submission of asset declarations and ensure maximum transparency (with only limited, proportionate, and clearly defined exceptions related to martial law).

— G7AmbReformUA (@G7AmbReformUA) July 26, 2023

The bill number 9534, which proposes changes to certain laws regarding the procedure for submitting declarations of individuals authorised to perform state or local government functions during wartime, was registered in the Verkhovna Rada on July 26.

Among the authors of the bill are the head of the Sluha Narodu parliamentary group, David Arakhamia, and MPs Serhii Vlasenko (Batkivshchyna") and Yaroslav Zhelezniak (Holos).

As reported in Zhelezniak's Telegram channel, the relevant parliamentary committee (on anti-corruption policy) is expected to consider the bill on Thursday. It will be brought up for discussion in the first reading during the plenary session of the Verkhovna Rada in the upcoming days.

According to him, the main bill novelty lies in the fact that declarations "should be submitted not only for the current year but also for all previous years."

Restoring electronic declarations for Ukrainian officials is one of the seven "candidate" criteria by the European Commission for combating corruption. Ukraine committed to fulfilling these criteria in order to initiate negotiations for EU accession.

The EU Ambassador to Ukraine, Matti Maasikas, advised Ukraine to restore e-declaration for officials after an interim evaluation of the implementation of the EU seven recommendations.

The Verkhovna Rada suspended the mandatory asset declaration process for officials when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, allowing them to submit information about their assets only after lifting martial law.