On the “Government Question Hour”of May 2, 2025

During the “Government Question Hour” held in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on May 2, 2025, many questions from Members of Parliament were addressed to the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, Mr. Ruslan Hrynchuk.

These questions concerned the strategic Agreement between Ukraine and the United States on the establishment of the Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund; the status of implementation of Ukraine’s EU integration obligations in the field of environmental protection; the implementation of the European Union Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 on preventing the import of products linked to deforestation; climate policy; water resources management and water supply in the river basins of Ukraine.

In response to a question from MP Andrii Zhupanin (Servant of the People party) regarding the issue of “dormant” subsoil use permits, Minister Hrynchuk emphasized that such permits are a major problem hindering sector development. The State Service of Geology and Subsoil of Ukraine has already analyzed all issued special permits for subsoil use and compiled a list of permits where extraction has not started or has remained below 1% over the past ten years. The next step involves conducting unscheduled inspections, based on which decisions will be made in accordance with current legislation.

The Association reminds that the procedure for organizing and conducting the “Government Question Hour” is defined in Articles 229 and 230 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Rules of Procedure of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.”

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