We the undersigned Ukrainian business leaders commit ourselves to the following principles of rule of law and economic policy in Ukraine. We do so in order to help establish sound principles for the further development of the Ukrainian economy. The following principles are not enumerated in order of priority.

1. The fundamental problem in Ukraine is that law enforcement does not work appropriately, which leaves private property rights unprotected. The Prosecutor General’s Office should be deprived of its excessive powers deriving from Soviet times, and the reform of the prosecution should be redone to guarantee its competence, integrity, and independence from political influence.
2. The judicial reform should be adjusted so that only judges of verified integrity are allowed to serve.
3. The law enforcement agencies should work for the rule of law and not act as organs of corporate raiding. In particular, the department of economic crime of the SBU should be abolished, and the SBU should not handle economic crimes.
4. The set of anticorruption bodies needs to be completed. A truly independent Anticorruption Court of real integrity should be established; the National Anticorruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) should be protected; the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NAZK) should be reformed so that it can operate properly; and an effective anticorruption prosecutor must be appointed. 
5. Energy prices should be unified and determined by real markets that should be established as soon as possible.
6. Harmful and outdated regulations, inspections, and inspection agencies should be abolished. All remaining unregulated monopolies should be eliminated, and an effective competition policy should be pursued.
7. Public procurement and public sales should be transparent, competitive subject to electronic bidding.
8. Non-strategic state assets should be privatized through transparent and competitive auctions, while proper corporate governance with independent supervisory boards should be established at the remaining large state companies.
9. Private sales of agricultural land should be legalized in such a form that the property rights of all land owners be guaranteed.
10. The tax and customs systems should be simplified and made transparent and lawful, ensuring that everyone pays taxes.
    The ultimate beneficial owners of all enterprises and other assets of significant value in Ukraine should be publicly declared.
11. Given the absence of prior asset declarations and the large gray economy, once ownership of enterprises and other assets have been declared, their legitimacy should be honored.
12. The independence of the National Bank of Ukraine should be maintained.
13. Strict rules for the conflict of interest for both public officials and parliamentarians should be established and enforced.
14. Ukraine shall pursue European integration and fulfill the conditions of the Association Agreement with the European Union.

Our hope is that such conditions will be created in Ukraine so that business leaders will no longer have to go into politics to defend their legitimate rights as businesses.

The following is a list of representatives of large businesses in Ukraine who have expressed their preliminary agreement with the text of the principles:

1. Rinat Akhmetov, SCM
2. Vitaliy Antonov, Galnaftogaz
3. Oleh Bakhmatiuk, Ukrlandfarming
4. Halyna Gerega, Epitsentr
5. Oleksandr Gerega, Epitsentr
6. Vitaliy Haiduk, Industrial Group Consortium
7. Vasyl Khmelnytsky, UDP
8. Borys Kolesnikov, APK-INVEST
9. Yuriy Kosyuk, MHP
10. Vadym Novynskyi, Smart Holding
11. Serhiy Taruta, ICD
12. Serhiy Tihipko, TAS Group
13. Oleksiy Vadaturskyi, Nibulon
14. Mykola Zlochevskyi, Burisma Holdings

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Image: Signatories and representatives gather at the launch of the principles in Kyiv, September 16.