Roman Waschuk
Roman Washchuk is Ukraine’s Business Ombudsman and former Canadian Ambassador to Ukraine.
In 2024, Ukraine and its government ticked pretty much every legislative and regulatory box there was: IMF markers, EU Ukraine Facility conditionalities – dozens of them. That political and institutional coordination effort is in itself a major governance achievement in wartime. But while laws and regulations have been passed, implementation in everyday administrative life has lagged, or been slow-walked.
As an Ombudsman institution, we live in that gap (sometimes, that chasm) between legislative theory and bureaucratic practice. It’s nice that Ukraine’s Tax and Customs Codes proclaim the presumption of legality in favor of the taxpayer – but authorities often act on an assumption of business bad will instead. With Ukraine’s EU accession talks now opening chapters on the fundamentals of governance, the country’s implementation gap will be front and center in 2025. The business community and international partners will also be keenly following delivery on 2024 commitments, such as the independent hiring processes for management reboots at the Bureau of Economic Security and State Customs Service.
Systemic problems require institutional solutions. Political quick fixes for individual industries and companies might seem more politically attractive but lack longer-term staying power and don’t reinforce the resilience and solidarity that Ukraine will need more than ever in the challenging year ahead.
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