Ukraine's government submits three more draft laws to parliament tied to international financing
Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers approved and sent to the Verkhovna Rada three draft laws needed to attract international financing and cover the state budget deficit. Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky described the deficit situation as serious and called on lawmakers, regardless of political affiliation, to vote on the package as quickly as possible.
Key points
- The three draft laws concern the National Commission on Securities and Stock Market (NSSMC), Ukrzaliznytsia, and the Higher Qualification Commission of Judges (VKKS).
- Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky said the state budget deficit situation is serious.
- Since the beginning of September, the government has approved and submitted 8 draft laws in total as part of the financing package.
- The Cabinet of Ministers plans to adopt all decisions under its plan by November 1.
- Koretsky earlier warned Ukraine could miss a significant portion of $29.5 billion in international assistance without joint work by parliament and government.
- Defense Minister Yevheniy Khmara cited a $27 billion defense budget shortfall at the September 8 Ramstein meeting.
Why it matters
The draft laws are tied to unlocking roughly $29.5 billion in international financial assistance, including a €3.7 billion EU macro-financial assistance payment planned for early autumn. Ukraine faces a reported $27 billion defense budget gap, which Defense Minister Yevheniy Khmara raised at the September 8 Ramstein meeting, and the package advances reforms in capital markets, Ukrzaliznytsia's corporate governance and the judicial qualification commission — all longstanding IMF and EU structural benchmarks.
What happened
Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers approved and submitted to the Verkhovna Rada three draft laws needed to attract international financing and cover the state budget deficit. Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky announced the move via Telegram and Facebook, describing the deficit situation as serious and calling on lawmakers of all political affiliations to support the package. The three bills concern the work of the National Commission on Securities and Stock Market, Ukrzaliznytsia, and the Higher Qualification Commission of Judges. Ministers were instructed to work the documents through with members of parliament at the committee level. Since the beginning of September, the government has approved and submitted eight draft laws in total as part of the package, and aims to complete its legislative plan by November 1.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian-language sources uniformly frame the submission as an urgent, domestically driven response to a serious budget deficit. They emphasize Koretsky's call for cross-party parliamentary support and the government's plan to complete its legislative package by November 1. The laws are presented as reforms tied to Ukraine's IMF and EU obligations.
Background
Obtaining the $29.5 billion in international assistance is tied to 44 government decisions, 26 laws already submitted to the Verkhovna Rada, and 17 additional draft laws. On August 24, President Volodymyr Zelensky named accelerating disbursements from an agreed €90 billion loan for 2026–2027 as a way to close the $27 billion budget gap. The European Commission has linked EU disbursements to Ukraine's implementation of agreed reforms and to its IMF program, and the EU Commissioner for Enlargement warned that the Rada's failure to pass one of the required laws could jeopardize a planned early-autumn €3.7 billion macro-financial assistance payment. On September 7, the government re-approved two related draft laws on taxation of small postal and express shipments valued up to €150 ordered through marketplaces. The three areas covered by the new laws — capital markets, Ukrzaliznytsia and the Higher Qualification Commission of Judges — have been longstanding structural benchmarks for the IMF and EU.