This reform is aimed to ensure the predictability of the state budget policy, a strategic approach to prioritising measures and proper distribution of limited budget resources.
Some of the important tasks of the reform include:
enhancing the efficiency of budgetary funds and the quality of public services;
identifying opportunities for redistribution of financial resources based on the public policy priorities;
increasing public access to budgetary information.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved amendments to the Budget Code of Ukraine on 06 December 2018 introducing medium-term budget planning. However, targeted results were not achieved after the first year of the implementation of these amendments — the 2020—2022 Budget Declaration developed by the Ministry of Finance in 2019 was not approved by the Government.
The practice of a budget expenditure review was also launched in 2018. Expenditure reviews have been conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Budget Code of Ukraine since 2019. These reviews covered 1.3% of the budget expenditures and loans in 2018, 16.4% in 2019 and 11.93% in 2020.
The intense cooperation of the Ministry of Finance with other governmental bodies focused on transparency of public finance and public access to budgetary information resulted in a stronger position of Ukraine in the Open Budget Index ranking. The score has improved from 54 in 2017 to 63 in 2019 and Ukraine took the 26th place of 117 countries meaning that it belongs to the Substantial Information Available group.
Full-scale medium-term budget planning is necessary to ensure predictability and consistency of the government spending policy for the next three years.
The current challenges and social needs require enhancing the efficiency of the public policy by the use of the state budgetary funds in the areas of work of the main government spending administrators. This can be done by launching an important tool for the public policy assessment — a budget expenditure review which has proved effective in many countries.
If even a few points of the Open Budget Index score are lost due to the negative impact of the spread of COVID-19, Ukraine may again be classified as a Limited Information Available country.
Developing the Budget Declaration as a medium-term budget planning document and using it for preparing the budget.
Periodic expenditure reviews in the areas defined by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and covering gradually all governments spending's.
Further improving the national budget documentation with regard to the Open Budget Index ranking criteria.
In 2020, high volatility and significant uncertainty of macroeconomic indicators in the context of the pandemic of COVID-19 caused by coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 make it impossible to develop a realistic macroeconomic forecast needed for the preparation of the medium-term Budget Declaration. As a result, some provisions of the Budget Code of Ukraine related to medium-term budget planning have been postponed to 2021.
However, the important goals for the current year include:
Expenditure reviews in the areas defined by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in its Order No. 212-p of 03 March 2020 (as amended).
Developing proposals to increase Ukraine’s position in the Open Budget Index ranking.
The Ministry of Finance and other budget process participants.