...We, members of the European Parliament express our deep concerns regarding three major problems prevalent in Ukraine’s environmental policy. These problems include the environmental cost of the timber industry, the flawed execution of the Law on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), and the lack of safety of environmental activists.

...[E]nvironmental NGOs and activists are repeatedly confronted with massive threats as a result of their work against illegal logging and environmental pollution...NGOs voicing public accusations against timber companies face legal harassments, commonly known as Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP). As a reaction to its critical statements regarding the EIA of Kronospan in Rivne Oblast, the NGO Ecoclub was taken to court by Kronospan for defamation.

We call on the Ukrainian government and lawmakers to urgently correct the shortcomings of the Law on EIA and to develop the above-mentioned measures in order to fulfil a fundamental requirement of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. Moreover, we highly recommend you to develop a legal framework in order to guarantee the security of environmental activists, journalists and civil society organizations along the lines of the upcoming EU anti-SLAPP directive.