Issue of farmland sales to foreigners must be resolved at referendum – PM

The Cabinet chief emphasizes that the law opening the land market in Ukraine will give Ukrainians the right to actually use their land.

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Land market must initially be opened for Ukrainians, while the issue of selling land to foreigners has to be resolved at a referendum, the newly-appointed Prime Minister, Denys Shmyhal, told a TV panel show Pravo na Vladu (Right to Power).

The Cabinet chief says he is a supporter of a market economy, not an authoritarian, socialist, or Soviet model, TSN reports.

"I advocate for the land market to first be opened to Ukrainians; for a civilized land market that would give an impetus to farming and Ukraine economy development. The question of the possibility of selling land to foreigners or foreign companies must be decided only at an all-Ukrainian referendum. Every Ukrainian should have the right to sell the land they own at a market price, not for a penny. This is the legal right of every Ukrainian. This is a right, not an obligation," said the prime minister.

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He notes that this law gives Ukrainians the right to actually use their land.

According to Shmyhal, as of Thursday, March 5, deputies have considered over 3,000 amendments to the law on the land market, with about 1,500 remaining.

As UNIAN reported earlier, on February 6, the Verkhovna Rada began consideration of the draft law on the land market for its second reading.

The bill had passed its first reading on November 13, 2020.

It is set to introduce land market in Ukraine from October 1, 2020.

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