The first round of mock sessions has begun as part of the preparation for a bilateral meeting with the European Commission under Chapter 27 “Environment and Climate Change”. The Director General of the Ukrainian Geological Survey (UGS), Oleh Hotsynets, took part in a mock session dedicated to environmental impact assessment, environmental liability, and environmental crimes, during which he presented to EU partners the current state of implementation of European directives into sectoral legislation, in particular with regard to groundwater.

This is a preparatory stage for the official screening of the compliance of Ukrainian legislation with EU law, which involves simulating a bilateral meeting between Ukraine and the European Commission scheduled for 16–20 June 2025. Oleh Hotsynets reported that, in order to collect data on the quality and quantity of groundwater, a state groundwater-monitoring network was established, consisting of 846 monitoring points, of which 328 are operational, 86 are conserved and require repair, and 432 are located in temporarily non-government-controlled territories. In 2020, groundwater level monitoring within the state monitoring network was carried out at 134 monitoring sites, while chemical composition monitoring was conducted at 40 sites. Since 2022, due to a lack of funding, state monitoring has not been carried out and requires restoration.

In addition, an interactive map of artesian wells has been created and published on the State Geological Portal. The map contains information on the water user, daily volumes of groundwater extraction and use, mineralisation, affiliation to a groundwater basin, and other relevant data.

Following the session, the presenters will receive feedback from European experts with proposals and comments for refining their materials, which will be presented during the official screening.