The peak of tax authorities’ activity is expected to occur in the spring.
The State Tax Service has planned 4,500 audits for 2026. Most of the attention of tax authorities will be focused on companies — 78%. Most inspections are planned for spring. Kyiv and the surrounding region, Dnipropetrovsk and Lviv regions lead in terms of the number of visits by tax authorities. Ukrainian business leaders are also on the State Tax Service’s list.
The State Tax Service has planned 4,558 inspections this year, which is 5% less than last year. The peak of tax authorities’ activity is tentatively scheduled for March and April. However, tax authorities will make the fewest visits at the beginning of the year: only 278 inspections.
Follow the updates on the tax audit schedule page.
Who should expect tax audits?
This year, the State Tax Service plans to focus most of its attention on companies, which account for 78% or 3,542 of the planned audits. In every fifth case, guests from the tax authorities should be expected by sole proprietors — 1,016 inspections. However, only 258 inspections are planned for businesses with issues related to personal income tax, military tax, and social security contributions.
There are not that many “problematic” companies on the list: five businesses are facing bankruptcy proceedings, three companies are in the process of being shut down, and one company is trying to restore its solvency through reorganization.
The largest number of audits awaits companies in the wholesale trade and agriculture sectors — 21% each. Businesses engaged in food production are in third place in terms of demand from tax authorities, with 5% of inspections.
The most active will be the tax authorities of the capital and the region — 1,067 inspections, Dnipropetrovsk region — 372, and Lviv region — 264 inspections.
Traditionally, the State Tax Service will also visit the country’s largest businesses. The list includes companies that are among the top ten in their field according to the 2025 Index. These are Naftogaz of Ukraine, Kamet-Steel, MHP, Rozetka, and NOVUS.
On the night of January 1, a major fire broke out at Le Constellation bar during New Year’s celebrations in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana (canton of Valais). According to updated data from the authorities, about 40 people died and another 119 were injured, many with severe burns.
As reported by representatives of the Valais cantonal police at a briefing on January 2, 113 of the 119 victims have already been officially identified. Among them are 71 Swiss citizens, 14 French citizens, 11 Italian citizens, 4 Serbian citizens, and one citizen each from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, and Portugal. The nationality of 14 other victims is still being determined.
A detailed breakdown of the nationalities of the victims has not yet been officially published, as identification is still ongoing. However, the Italian Golf Federation has reported the death of 16-year-old athlete Emanuele Galepini; Reuters has named him as the first confirmed Italian citizen among the victims.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ukraine has not yet received confirmation of the presence of Ukrainian citizens among the dead or injured; the Ukrainian Embassy in Switzerland is in contact with local authorities and law enforcement agencies.
The investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing; among the versions discussed by the media with reference to the investigation is the use of sparklers/spark candles during service in the crowded establishment.
According to Serbian Economist, the Serbian Ministry of Education has announced the financing of educational materials for migrant schoolchildren, including the translation and adaptation of materials into Ukrainian, as the language barrier remains one of the key challenges in integrating children into the education system.
Education Minister Dejan Vuk Stankovic noted that more than 5,500 migrant and asylum-seeking students have consistently passed through the Serbian education system. According to him, the ministry continues to support schools where migrant children study: mentors and external consultants are involved, and teaching materials are translated into the students’ native languages, currently Ukrainian and Arabic.
Stankovic reported that as part of this work, training events were held for more than 4,000 educators, teachers, principals, and support specialists, and more than 70 schools received support through grants. In addition, more than 3,000 individual support plans have been prepared and more than 10,000 additional classes have been held; support measures also included the distribution of books, textbooks, and school supplies.
The ministry also noted that the work on translating materials and supporting schools is being carried out with the participation of international partners. However, the amount of expenditure and the number of textbooks printed or materials translated into Ukrainian were not disclosed in the ministry’s public statements.
Updated rules for producers of grapes and wine products have been in force in Ukraine since January 1, 2026, they are approved by the law “On grapes, wine and wine products” (#3928-ІХ), adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on August 22, 2024. The law introduces updated rules for producers of grapes and wine products, establishes modern requirements for the cultivation of grapes, production, labeling and circulation of wine, and brings the Ukrainian system closer to European standards.
One of the key elements of the document is the protection of geographical indications – classification according to the European model, according to which a clear division of wines by origin into wines with protected appellation of origin (PAO) and wines with protected geographical indication (PGI) is introduced. Clear rules have been established for the official recognition and protection of geographical indications, allowing producers to secure regional brands and guarantee consumers authentic quality.
An important tool for streamlining the industry will be the creation of the Viticulture and Wine Registry: the state is introducing a unified information system where all grape plots, grape production and viticulture products will be registered. This will guarantee full traceability of the product from the vine to the store shelf.
In addition, the said law provides for simplification of conditions for small winemakers, which will stimulate the development of the craft segment and gastrotourism.
At the same time, Ukraine introduces strict requirements to the label: the information that must be available to the consumer is clearly regulated, which prevents falsification of wines.
The law updates the terms and classification of wine products, establishes quality standards and labeling requirements. It defines the procedure for state control and general principles of development of the winegrowing and winemaking industry.
In Romania, a penitentiary institution has launched a “service advertisement” for individuals and companies: prisoners can be hired for domestic and seasonal work at a rate of about 27 lei per hour, based on a simple service contract.
The jobs advertised include chopping wood, manual earthworks, tree pruning/clearing, and clearing plots of land, ditches, and canals. The announcement also states that food and security/escort are provided by the institution, and transport to the work site can be provided separately at a rate of approximately 2 lei/km.
This refers to Penitenciarul Mioveni (Romania), as reported by the Romanian media with reference to the institution’s publication.
The context provided in the article: against the backdrop of a labor shortage, many companies in Romania are attracting workers from non-EU countries. According to data cited from a study by the Economic and Social Council (CES), of the 136,334 third-country nationals with work permits (as of the end of August), the largest groups are from Nepal and Sri Lanka.
The list of countries whose citizens are mentioned in the article as the main groups of workers from third countries includes Nepal, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Moldova, India, Bangladesh, China, Syria, Egypt, and Pakistan.
If current demographic trends continue, the EU population will age and begin to decline after the middle of the decade, and in a scenario of zero net migration, the decline could be sharp, to approximately 294 million by 2100, according to calculations based on Eurostat projections (EUROPOP2023).
According to Eurostat’s baseline scenario, which assumes continued positive net migration, the EU population will grow from 446.7 million in 2022 to a peak of 453.3 million in 2026, after which it will gradually decline to 419.5 million by 2100 (down 6.1% from 2022).
At the same time, Eurostat also publishes alternative scenarios (sensitivity tests), including a zero net migration option. In this scenario, the total population of the EU by the end of the century is significantly lower – estimated at around 294 million people, which means a reduction of about one-third from mid-2020s levels. These differences are also highlighted in visualizations based on Eurostat data, as cited by regional media.
The key driver of population decline is negative natural growth. According to Eurostat estimates, between 2022 and 2100, approximately 291.3 million people could be born in the EU, with 416.6 million deaths (a net reduction due to natural movement of approximately 125.3 million), while cumulative net migration in the baseline scenario will partially offset the losses, adding about 98.1 million people.
At the country level, the differences are even more noticeable. In Eurostat’s baseline scenario, the largest population declines by 2100 are expected in Latvia and Lithuania (more than a third), as well as in Greece. At the same time, a number of countries, on the contrary, show population growth due to migration, including Luxembourg and Ireland.
It is noted separately that for Croatia, Eurostat’s baseline scenario predicts a decline in population from about 3.86 million in 2022 to about 2.82 million in 2100, while in scenarios with stricter migration assumptions, the final figures may be lower.
