Editor’s Note: The Kyiv Post will be tracking the progress made by Ukraine’s new, post-EuroMaidan Revolution leaders in making deep structural changes in the national interest. The Reform Watch project is supported by the International Renaissance Foundation. Content is independent of the financial donor.
Security & Defense
On Jan. 15 parliament approved a presidential decree ordering three waves of mobilization of armed forces reservists in 2015. The first wave will start on Jan. 20. “We need to mobilize the whole country to win. There is no alternative,” Oleksandr Turchynov, secretary of the National Defense and Security Council, said in parliament. Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak said that some 104,000 people can be mobilized in 2015, with an initial wave of 50,000 and the other two contingent on the situation in Ukraine’s east. Lawmakers also passed a law increasing the maximum age for compulsory military service from 25 to 27 years on Jan.15.
Energy
During its Jan. 13 session, parliament returned the bill on the energy efficiency of buildings to the goverment for revision. It was criticized by lawmakers from President Petro Poroshenko’s bloc, Batkivshchyna and Samopomich parties because of the requirements it introduces for receiving construction permits. “If we are integrating in Europe, we should fulfill the EU directives. If we are fighting corruption and conducting deregulation, we shouldn’t create unreasonable regulations for the work of energy managers and auditors,” Oleksiy Riabchyn, member of parliament of Batkivhschyna party, said.
NetCrawl
On Jan. 14, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on Ukraine in which it invited the European Energy Community “to develop a cooperation agenda with Ukraine, as well as with Southern Caucasus, Central Asian, Middle East and Mediterranean countries, aiming at developing infrastructure and interconnectivity between the EU and its European neighbors independently from Russian gas geopolitics” and acknowledged “that stable gas supplies to Ukraine are also critical to ensuring member states’ energy security.”
Rule of law
On Jan. 14, parliament’s anti-corruption committe initiated a no-confidence vote on Prosecutor General Vitaliy Yarema because of unsatisfactory progress in investigation the alleged crimes of ex-President Viktor Yanukovych and his administration. “We hear a lot of announcements, see a lot of action, but don’t see the results. That’s why I, as a member of parliament, initiated dismissal of Yarema,” Yegor Sobolev, the head of committee, said. To submit the proposal to the parliament for a vote, the committee needs to collect 150 signatures of lawmakers.
On Jan. 12, the recruitment for the head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau officially started. Foreigners under 65 with a law degree and at least 10 years of professional experience are eligible to apply, along with Ukrainian citizens. They, however, have to obtain Ukrainian citizenship by Feb. 12, the deadline for application. The head of the bureau will be responsible for recruitment of investigators and running the agency.
Public Administration
On Jan. 15, Economy Minister Aivaras Abromavicius proposed a law to allow for the privatization of some 1,251 state enterprises, including sea ports and enterprises in agriculture, coal, avaiation, chemical and other industries. The state owns some 3, 374 enterprises at the moment and only 1,920 are working. “The majority of these enterprises are very small, the revenue of 60 percent of those is less than 1 million euro, that’s why there are not so many good enterprises,” he said. Parliament, however, wasn’t happy with the proposed law and asked for revision.
Land
The Agricultural Ministry has hired Big Four accounting companies to conduct audit big state enterprises, according to Agriculture Minister Oleksiy Pavlenko.The ministry also wants to investigate the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, which owns some 300 hectares of state land. “We need to see who is using that land and how,” he said.
