Peoples’ Deputy Oleh Tarasov submitted amendments to the draft law №2194, developed by experts of UAC experts from the analysis center “Smart Country” and the USAID program on Agricultural and Rural Development, to the parliament. Among other things, the bill provides for the transfer of state-owned agricultural land, which is outside settlements to communal ownership of communities.

They are important to prevent the acquisition of agricultural land by foreign citizens and the privatization of game preserve and historical and cultural significance lands.

In particular, it is proposed:

The amendment №1: The Part 5 of the Article 22 of the Land Code of Ukraine shall be worded as follows: “Agricultural lands may not be transferred to foreigners, stateless persons, foreign legal entities and foreign countries. Acquisition of agricultural land ownership is carried out taking into account the requirements of the Article 130 of this Code”.

The Article 130 of the Land Code stipulates that only legal entities registered under the legislation of Ukraine, whose participants are only citizens of Ukraine and/or the state, and/or territorial communities, may purchase land; territorial communities and the state. Foreigners and foreign law firms are prohibited from buying agricultural land until otherwise decided in a referendum.

The amendment № 2: Return to the Article 82 "The ownership right of legal entities land” to the Land Code the Part №2. “Land plots of agricultural purpose inherited to the legal entities, which in accordance with this Code cannot acquire their ownership, shall be a subject to alienation within one year”, and also add the Part 3 “In the situation of a changing the purpose of the non-agricultural land purpose with the assignment of such land to the category of agricultural land, owned by a person who in accordance with the provisions of this Code, cannot acquire ownership of agricultural land because such a land is a subject of alienation during one year"

Thus, even the illusory possibility of acquiring agricultural land through the "scheme" of changing their purpose first to non-agricultural, and then, after their purchase, again to agricultural, is eliminated.

The amendment № 3: To return the word "Ukraine" to the Part 1 of the Article 33 and to Part 1 of Article 131 of the Land Code of Ukraine. Opponents are convinced that due to its absence, a "gap" is being created regarding the acquisition of land by foreign citizens. Thus, these articles are worded as follows:

The Part 1 of the Article 33 "Land plots of personal farms":

“Land plots intended for personal farming can be transferred by citizens for the use of legal entities of Ukraine and can be used by them for commercial agricultural production, farming without changing the purpose of the land plots.”

The Part 1 of the Article 131 "Acquisition of land ownership on the basis of other civil law agreements":

"Citizens and legal entities of Ukraine, as well as territorial communities and the state have the right to acquire land plots at the basis of exchange, rents, gifts, inheritance and other civil-law agreements."

The amendment № 4: In order to avoid the risks of privatization of game preserve, historical and cultural significance lands, UAC and USAID specialists propose not to delete the second part of the Article 150, but to write it in such a way:

«Termination of the right of land plots permanent use especially valuable lands, defined in item "d" of the part one of this article, on the grounds of voluntary refusal to use them or by their withdrawal is carried out in coordination with the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine."

At the same time, given that the Verkhovna Rada practically does not consider these issues, their consideration should be entrusted to the Cabinet of Ministers as a permanent executive body formed by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, but to prevent the return to the state and communities of the NAAS lands usage of which is connected not only with a science, but with corruption - it is not necessary.

We hope that the parliamentary factions will support these amendments during the second reading of the bill №2194, which will allow its adoption.