In 2004, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), with the support of the European Union (EU), began a multi-year project on Improving the Conditions for Enterprise Development and the Investment Climate for Domestic and International Investors in Ukraine (the "Project").

One of the key aspects of the Project is examining problems with Ukrainian legislation, its interpretation, implementation and enforcement, and with legislative gaps affecting investment and enterprise development in Ukraine. The OECD has engaged the RULG - Ukrainian Legal Group (RULG) to carry out this legal aspect of the Project.

Below we describe, in chronological order, both the Project, the findings, and materials produced over the course of the Project. The most recent developments include: (i) the 13 June 2006 OECD-UNDP Roundtable on "Enterprise Development and Investment Climate in Ukraine" presenting main findings of the entire Project and discussing related policy recommendations (more detailed information on the 13 June 2006 OECD-UNDP Roundtable can be viewed on the OECD's Web site); (ii) the 26 April 2005 OECD Workshop (the Agenda in English/Ukrainian and the Workshop Conclusions in English/Ukrainian are available for download); and (ii) the draft Law "On the Fundamentals of the Permits System in the Sphere of Economic Activity", prepared by the OECD for the Government of Ukraine.

In the first stage, RULG conducted a Survey of foreign and domestic businesses operating in Ukraine to identify their main legal concerns (the questionnaire used in this Survey may be viewed here) by organizing in April and May of 2004 a series of interviews with international and domestic small, medium, and large businesses. At the same time, RULG conducted a comprehensive review of Ukraine's civil, company, antimonopoly, and other business laws and regulations to identify points of concern within the legislation itself.

The results of the Survey and the findings of the legislative review were discussed at the Roundtable conference held on 19 May 2004 in Kiev. The Roundtable Agenda is available for download in English and Ukrainian.

RULG, with the OECD's active participation, collated the results of the Survey, the legislative review, and the Roundtable into a comprehensive Report, which contains an Executive Summary, general observations on the modern Ukrainian legal environment for business activity, three sections on the specific areas of civil legislation, company law and antimonopoly law, as well as a section on miscellaneous hidden charges and unnecessary obstacles to doing business in Ukraine. The Report analyzes fundamental challenges facing the legal regime for business activity, including the problems arising out of the new Civil Code and Commercial Code of Ukraine and their lack of compatibility. The Report also contains many suggestions for legislative improvements. The entire Report is available for download in English and in Ukrainian. The Report can also be viewed on the OECD Web site.

We are further pleased to mention that the Report was acknowledged in the UNDP Blue Ribbon Commission for Ukraine's Proposals for the President: A New Wave of Reform, which has considerably influenced the new Ukrainian Government's economic program (announced in February 2005). The UNDP Blue Ribbon Commission's Proposals are available at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace's Web site.

The Report, along with many other comprehensive materials on economic development in Ukraine prepared under various other EU-funded projects, was also released on a CD-ROM entitled Private Business Development - A Harvest of Knowledge, 2004 on 20 October 2004. To date, 150,000 copies of this CD-ROM have been distributed free of charge. Copies can be obtained via e-mail by requesting them from the EC Delegation at press@delukr.cec.eu.int, or in hard copy format by visiting the EC Delegation's offices.

On 26 April 2005, the RULG assisted OECD in organizing in Kiev a follow-up Workshop on the "Legal Framework for Business Operations in the Ukraine - Latest Developments and Next Steps". The Agenda in English/Ukrainian and the Workshop Conclusions in English/Ukrainian are available for download.

The OECD, with assistance from RULG, also consulted with the State Committee for Regulatory Policy and Entrepreneurship, companies in the private sector, and bilateral and multilateral advisory programs, and prepared a draft Law "On the Fundamentals of the Permits System in the Sphere of Economic Activity". The draft Law is available for download in English and Ukrainian. This draft Law establishes key principles for the clear and equitable administration of a modern regulatory governance and permits system.

On 13 June 2006, the RULG co-organizes the Roundtable on "Enterprise Development and Investment Climate in Ukraine" hosted by OECD and co-hosted by the UN Development Program in Ukraine (UNDP). The objective of this Roundtable was to present main findings of the EU-OECD project carried out in 2004-2006, on improving the conditions for enterprise development and the investment climate for domestic and international investors in Ukraine and discuss related policy recommendations with Ukrainian and international stakeholders. RULG President, Dr. Irina Paliashvili moderates Session I of the Roundtable on the Legal Framework for Business Operations and presents the Summary of Recommendations on Legal Framework for Business Operations (available in English and Ukrainian). The Roundtable's agenda is available in English and Ukrainian and the Roundtable's final Summary of Main Findings and Recommendations is also available in English and Ukrainian. Please visit the OECD’s Web site to read more.

The OECD views this Project as constituting an ongoing process of identifying legal problems that should be repaired, developing laws, procedures and mechanisms to fix those problems, and then following through to the laws' practical implementation. Further Project developments will be reflected on this Web page.