Trade with China, winter gas supplies, the launch of multimedia foreign broadcasting platform and extension of access to Justice Ministry's databases led the government's agenda on Sept. 30.
As Ukraine shifts
away from Russia as its key trade partner, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk
announced that 18 Ukrainian companies obtained access to Chinese market of
dairy products as a result of successful talks in China.
This is equally
important from both the perspective of diversification of markets and building
up of Ukraine’s export potential, Yatsenyuk said.
Currently,
Ukraine’s trade with Russian Federation constitutes 14 percent of $35.8 billion turnover, while China’s trade share with
Ukraine amounts to 9 percent.
“New markets are
extremely important for Ukraine,” Yatsenyuk emphasized. “This is recognition of
our efforts to modernize industry.”
Yatsenyuk also
talked about three developments coming in October:
Gas market law
The law on natural
gas market, passed by parliament on April 9, will become effective on Oct. 1.
Apart from bringing gas market rules in line with the European
Union’s Third Energy Package, it also aims to bust up oligarchic schemes and
boost competition. And Yatsenyuk believes Ukraine has already de-oligarchized
gas sector.
“Oligarchs
who used to control Ukrainian gas market … are in the past and during the last
18 months, none of the oligarchs had a monopoly over the supply and
distribution of gas in Ukraine,” Yatsenyuk said.
Earlier,
the government went after Ukrainian billionaires Igor Kolomoisky and Dmytro Firtash, a former
partner of Russia’s Gazprom in the multibillion-dollar business of supplying
Ukraine with natural gas.
While
Kolomoisky and his associates were removed from management of Ukraine’s oil
transportation companies Ukrnafta and Ukrtransnafta, Yatsenyuk publicly accused
Firtash and his partner, Serhiy Lyovochkhin, of “feeding like vampires upon
Naftogaz for decades, embezzling billions.”
It
is also expected that Ukraine’s state oil and gas giant Naftogaz will gradually
lose its monopoly over the gas market. So buyers and sellers will be free to
decide where to purchase and sell gas.
In
addition, adoption of the legislature enabled government to provide gas
discount for Ukrainian citizens and households. “We have promised the country
that every Ukrainian citizen, each household that consumes less than 200 cubic
meters of gas, will receive the discounted price for gas,” said Yatsenyuk.
While the market price for one cubic meter of gas is Hr 7188, these consumers
will receive gas for Hr 3600, Yatsenyuk said.
Yatsenuk
also said that Ukraine has made progress in negotiations of new agreement with
Russian Federation on supply of natural gas. After Ukraine suspended purchase
of gas on July 1, trilateral group consisting of Ukraine, Russia and European
Union was searching for possible ways to overcome the gridlock situation.
“It
gives us a clear perspective that Ukraine will be fully provided with natural
gas,” said the head of the government noting that the funds for purchases of
gas are already collected.
According
to Yatsenyuk, Ukraine needs $1.3 billion to survive winter.
While
“$500 million are already placed on the Naftogaz account,” $300 million are yet
to be granted by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, allowing
the World Bank to loan Ukraine further $500 million under sovereign guarantees.
Following
government’s meeting, EBRD approved $300 million loan for Ukraine for purchases
of natural gas on the European market to fill storages for the winter heating
period.
Multimedia foreign broadcasting
platform of Ukraine
Meantime,
Minister of Information Policy Yurii Stets announced launch of the new
multimedia foreign broadcasting platform which would be Ukraine’s global
voice over five continents. “Tomorrow (on Oct. 1) at 12 p.m. we will launch a
foreign broadcasting platform,” said Stets noting that reforms continue despite
resistance.
Access to public registers
In
his turn, Pavlo Petrenko, Ukraine’s justice minister, presented ministry’s initiatives on extending access to public data through
registers. Starting from Oct. 6, apart from address, registration number and
cadastral number – it would be possible to perform search by the surname of a
person. Previously, only authorized persons – notaries, advocates and state
agencies – could perform such a search.
Currently, Ukrainian citizens have access to real estate,
cadastral, automobile and business registers. “I hope that starting from Oct. 6
the access to these registers will extend,” said Petrenko, admitting that this
will foster effective public anti-corruption control.
Kyiv Post legal
affairs reporter Mariana Antonovych can be reached at [email protected].
