The moratorium depreciates the current lease value of farmland — Mikloš

The moratorium on farmland sale in Ukraine has an extremely negative impact on the economy, investment, on small and medium-sized businesses, and also depreciates its current lease value.

Such opinion was expressed by the former Minister of Finance of Slovakia, Co-chairman of the Strategic Advisory Group for Support Ukrainian Reforms Ivan Mikloš in the interview for Eurointegration.

"As a result, the current cost of renting land in Ukraine is much lower than in Poland, where the soil is not as fertile," Ivan Mikloš explains.

According to Ivan Mikloš, the recent decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) that the moratorium on farmland sale in Ukraine is a violation of human rights may be a reason for its abolition.

"I do hope so. I am convinced that the moratorium on the sale of farmland to private owners violates human rights. This should be clear not only for lawyers but for every person. That is why a 17-year-old moratorium looks absolutely incomprehensible to me. The situation has changed after the decision of the ECHR. The extension of the moratorium will lead to obligatory payments to landowners whose rights are violated," Ivan Mikloš says.

However, in his opinion, this is not the main reason why the moratorium should be abolished.

Ivan Mikloš is also concerned about the ineffective land reform in Ukraine in 2017.