EU voices support, guidelines for Ukraine land market launch

The EU Delegation to
Ukraine has published a statement expressing its support for the Zelensky
administration’s current efforts to launch a farmland market in Ukraine, as
reported on Nov.
13 by the eurointegration.com.ua news site. The reform, which can “open the
enormous potential for Ukraine’s economy,” should be based on the rule of law,
permanence, transparency, justice and comprehensiveness, said the statement
issued by the delegation’s press service. The EU also recommends that small
farms be the foundation of a system of state support, the statement said. “At
the launch of this market, it’s important to establish guarantees to avoid
excessive concentration of land in the hands of a few operators, ensure just
treatment of the owners of small plots who want to sell them, and guarantee the
rights of active small farmers, who wish to acquire agricultural land,” the
statement said.

Ukraine’s farmland
market should become the first step of a wider, all-encompassing land reform
that will include raising awareness of land rights and establishing a policy of
land use, planning and monitoring. “One of the preconditions of success is,
particularly, raising transparency with open access to information on land
rights and its publication. A deeper reform of the State Land Cadaster and
redistribution of its functions is needed for that,” the statement said. The EU
expressed support for institutional changes in administering land resources, as
well as planning and administering the integration of the State Land Cadaster
with the State Register of Real Property Rights.

Ukraine’s parliament
is reviewing land market bills at today’s session. Three out of five factions –
the populist Fatherland party, the pro-Russian Opposition Platform For Life and
pro-NATO European Solidarity – have voiced their opposition to the bill
endorsed by the Cabinet of Ministers, which nonetheless restricts foreign
entities from the market. “We won’t vote for a bill on the reckless
distribution of land,” said European Solidarity MP Mykola Kniazhytskiy, as
reported by the pravda.com.ua news site. “We are for a land market, but only
when the minimum price is high and the Ukrainian villager is protected and
prioritized. And those who want to buy parcels the size of Lichtenstein or
Andorra won’t have the ability to do so.”

Zenon Zawada: The European
Union support for Ukraine’s farmland market was expected. Yet it wasn’t widely
expected that the European Solidarity party led by former President Poroshenko
would be opposed. Not only is it playing populist politics, understanding that
more than 70% of the Ukrainian public opposes the market (according to a late
September poll by the Rating polling firm). Poroshenko’s party is positioning
itself to redeem his policies in the eyes of the public and regain the support
of disillusioned Zelensky voters for the next elections in the event that the
president’s reform efforts fail. For this reason, all three opposing factions
will work to sabotage the reform efforts of the Zelensky administration and The
People’s Servant party, particularly in launching the land market. But they
won’t have enough votes to stop its approval.