By KYIV. Dec 20 (Interfax-Ukraine) – President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that he did not sign the scandalous bill No. 5655 on urban development reform on his own initiative.
“As for this law on developers and so on. No one has ever personally contacted me so that I would not sign it. Therefore, this is my personal choice, and there are reasons. No one from the European Union, the United States or the G7 has ever raised this issue,” Zelenskyy said at a press conference on Tuesday evening.
As reported, the Verkhovna Rada approved draft law No. 5655 on urban development reform on December 13, 2022, with 228 votes, with the required minimum of 226 votes. As of December 20, 2023, the law has not been signed by the President of Ukraine.
The document was opposed by the Association of Cities of Ukraine, mayors of cities, the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP), the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, the National Union of Architects of Ukraine.
A petition demanding to veto bill No. 5655, posted on the website of the President of Ukraine, gained more than 25,000 votes on the day of its adoption by parliament.
In June 2023, the European Parliament called on President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy to veto the law on urban planning reform, pointing out the possible damage if it is adopted transparent and for equal business conditions. Later in November 2023, the European Commission made a similar recommendation.
