GR in Energy: How Business Can Overcome the Crisis of Public Administration and Use "Windows of Opportunity." Insights from Valerii Bezus

16.07.2025

Building relationships between business and government in Ukraine is a complex process that takes place against the backdrop of a public administration crisis, a biased attitude towards business, and a negative perception of any lobbying. At the same time, Ukrainian legislation already provides numerous tools for civilized and effective dialogue. Valerii Bezus, Vice President of Energy Club and Head of the State Agency for Energy Efficiency (2021-2023), spoke about how to overcome these challenges and use existing opportunities during his lecture on GR basics for the “Communications and Interaction in Energy” course.

With unique experience working both in the private sector in top positions and at the head of a central executive authority, the expert outlined the key problems faced by GR specialists.

Valerii Bezus

“We are currently at a specific stage in our nation’s development. This includes, probably, all of us observing a crisis in public administration from the perspective of the quality of the personnel who handle these issues. I cannot guarantee that the majority of those currently performing state functions in public sector positions are qualified enough to understand this, but the situation will undoubtedly change,” noted Valerii Bezus.

Another challenge, according to the speaker, is a cultural bias inherited from Soviet times: “For some reason, we do not perceive business as an equal entity. We believe that the interests of business are less important than, relatively speaking, the interests of pensioners… Somehow, we constantly have to prove that business has a constitutionally enshrined right to exist as an instrument for realizing citizens’ rights.”

Despite these challenges, the expert is convinced that the path to effective GR lies through legal and transparent tools, as the European model of governance, which Ukraine strives for, is based on dialogue.

“The principles by which public administration is organized, the so-called good governance in Europe, unequivocally provide for the inclusivity of public decisions, meaning the inclusion of the opinions and interests of various representatives of society. And in matters of economic development, the opinion of business comes first, because it is business that plays a key role in the development of the economy,” the lecturer emphasized.

Valerii Bezus highlighted several key “windows of opportunity” for business:

• Working through public associations: In the expert’s opinion, this is one of the most effective tools. “When a business represents its interests indirectly, through a public association, it is possible to effectively bypass the trap of [cultural inferiority]. The instrument of public associations allows for a more qualitative representation of business interests than the interests of a separate, individual business.”
• Transparency of regulators: The requirements for openness and transparency in the work of bodies such as the NCREKP are a direct opportunity for businesses to represent and defend their interests. “The requirement for openness and transparency in its work is precisely that window of opportunity for business to represent and protect its interests through effective GR,” the speaker noted.
• Cooperation with ministries: The regulation on the Ministry of Energy directly provides for its obligation to generalize the practice of applying legislation and the possibility of forming consultative and advisory bodies, which is another channel for effectively conveying the position of business.

The lecture gave the participants a strategic vision that, despite all the difficulties, Ukraine already has a strong legal framework for building civilized relations with the government, and the move towards the EU will only enhance the importance of transparent and professional GR.

About the course: The course “Communications and Interaction in Energy: Strategies for PR, Marketing, GR and Lobbying in Ukraine” from Energy Club is designed to enhance the communication capabilities of companies, promote their competitiveness, and support the sustainable development of Ukraine’s energy sector.