Speaking at the roundtable “Consequences of war for private business and economy of Ukraine – the results of 2022, challenges of 2023” in the Brussels Press Club, the legal adviser of the industrial-investment group Aurum Yaroslav Mykyta reported on the legal issues of private business in Ukraine.
As Yaroslav Mykyta noted during the speech, with the beginning of a full-scale war in Ukraine many companies appeared to be closely viewed by law enforcement officers; not only the companies with russian capital, but also many enterprises that conducted trade with the aggressor-country before the hostilities began, which significantly damaged their operation and reputation.
“Unfounded suspicions and lawsuits are extremely harmful not only for the reputation, but also the work of Ukrainian enterprises at this difficult time for the country. It is the private sector that is given the key role in supporting and restoring our country, and therefore business should be able to work at full force.”
During his statement, the Aurum Group representative also noted that exports by Ukrainian enterprises to russia was historically caused by the proximity of the location of enterprises to the russian borders.
“It is a pity that business now has to remove unfounded suspicions in court,” Yaroslav Mykyta said.
The statements by the Ukrainian business representatives have stirred support and a lively discussion among the participants. In particular, the message about the legal situation in the country caused indignation in the audience. The ex-deputy of the European Parliament, Claudia Tapardel, noted that before the war, due to the proximity of borders, many European producers were delivering products to Russia, but this did not cause persecution by the authorities. Experts and participants of the event also agreed that it is imperative for Ukraine to have the rule of law and reform the judicial system and law enforcement agencies, as well as make corruption inadmissible.
In particular, Frank Schwalba-Hoth, ex-deputy of the European Parliament (Germany), Paulo Casaca, ex-deputy of the European Parliament (Portugal), Claudia Tapardel, ex-deputy of the European Parliament (Romania) and Kateryna Tsaranok from Brussels Modern Education & Research Institute, were actively participating in the discussions during the roundtable.