20.01.2026
“The competition for the NEURC currently resembles figure skating: scores are given based on whether ‘the pirouette was liked or not.’ We need clear criteria: a knowledge test and an integrity check.”
Oleksandr Trokhymets, Chairman of the Energy Law Committee of the UNBA, delivered a scathing critique of the proposed reform concept. He believes the bills ignore Constitutional Court rulings and attempt to create an artificial superstructure instead of an effective executive body.
Constitutional Deadlock
The lawyer recalled that the Constitutional Court clearly defined in 2019 that the Regulator is an executive body and must be subordinate to the Cabinet of Ministers.
“All talk of ‘institutional independence’ shatters against the Constitution. There cannot be an executive body that is subordinate to no one. MPs are stepping on the same rake again, ignoring the Basic Law. The rotation proposed by the bills is absolutely unconstitutional. The current law already has an exhaustive list of grounds for dismissal. If a commission member broke the law — dismiss them. But an approach of ‘we are doing this because we can’ undermines trust in the state.”
On Status and Selection
Trokhymets insists on simplifying the status of NEURC members as classic civil servants subject to standard anti-corruption laws.
“Today’s competition is subjective ‘figure skating.’ Commission members evaluate candidates based on personal sympathies. This must be removed. There should be two objective filters: integrity (yes/no) and a professional exam (testing). Only then will we get experts rather than those who are ‘needed’.”
