Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said that he supports the idea of holding tax amnesty in Ukraine so that Ukrainians could pay the respective tax, bring money into Ukraine and legally invest in the Ukrainian economy.
“I propose that we once again return to the discussion of the so-called ‘zero’ declaration. We cannot say that every Ukrainian is guilty of something. We should give every Ukrainian the opportunity to pay the respective tax, in accordance with the law, bring money into Ukraine, invest it in the Ukrainian economy and feel a free citizen of a free country,” he said at a meeting with business representatives in Kyiv on Monday.
Poroshenko invited those present to join the drafting of a bill on the so-called “zero” declaration.
“I will not submit it now, but if you support this, I propose our joint work in order to protect, first and foremost, small and medium-sized businesses,” he said.
Transport companies in Ukraine in January 2018 increased passenger transportation by 1.6% compared to January 2017, to 366.7 million people. The State Statistics Service reported passenger turnover for the reporting period increased by 3.2%, to 7.5 billion passenger-kilometers.
Transportation by rail (taking into account transportation by the city electric train) decreased by 2.5%, to 11.5 million people.
Transportation by road in January 2018 fell by 2%, to 162.5 million passengers.
Air transport carried 700,000 passengers (6.5% more).
Transportation of passengers by trams, according to the State Statistics Service, rose by 5.5%, to 52.6 million people, by trolleybuses by 6.3%, to 84 million people, by the underground by 2.9%, to 55.4 million passengers.
Ukraine in January-February exported 44,450 tonnes of poultry, which is 40.1% more than in the same period in 2017, the State Fiscal Service has reported.
According to its data, in monetary terms exports of these products increased by 1.6 times, to $68.87 million.
Imports of poultry and offal products increased by 26.2%, to 20,290 tonnes, in monetary terms by 36.4% and amounted to $8.76 million.
According to the service, exports of pork in January-February compared to the corresponding period in 2017 decreased by 67.8%, to 370 tonnes. Exports of these products amounted to $870,000 against $2.11 million in January-February 2017.
Pork imports to Ukraine during this period increased by 2.2 times, to 990 tonnes. Pork imports totaled $1.59 million compared to $740,000 in January-February 2017.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Affairs and Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini believes that the implementation of the provisions of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union should be the first step towards the country’s membership of the EU. “As for Ukraine’s membership in the EU, I think that the first step is to ensure the implementation of the Association Agreement and its provisions on the FTA, and use all its advantages”, Mogherini told Ukrainian students. She added that successful reform in Ukraine included decentralization, pension, education and health reform.
“We are working every day to implement this agreement and the first results have already been produced. For example, Ukraine’s exports to the EU grew by a third compared to the previous year”, Mogherini said. She also said that one of the most important events in bilateral relations was the functioning of the visa-free regime between Ukraine and the EU.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said that he discussed the agenda of the 20th Ukraine-EU summit scheduled for July 2018 with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini.
“We exchanged views on the substantive content of the next summit. I am grateful to Ms. Mogherini for the powerful support of our proposals, for a fruitful meeting and for another confirmation of the unity of Ukraine and the EU and solidarity,” he said after a meeting with Mogherini in Kyiv on Monday.
He noted that energy issues would also be raised during the summit. “During the next summit, we plan to discuss the sectoral areas of cooperation, the possibility of Ukraine joining the Digital Union and the Energy Union, as well as other forms of cooperation, according to which the relevant work has already begun on the order of the European Commission president,” Poroshenko said.
The bill on national security will help improve Ukraine’s investment climate if adopted by the Verkhovna Rada, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said.
“We must work hard to ensure that Ukraine changes with respect to NATO standards. This will be largely facilitated by the law on national security, which was registered in parliament and drafted in cooperation with our NATO partners,” he said at a meeting with business representatives in Kyiv on Monday. Poroshenko noted that the adoption of this bill was closely linked to the improvement of the investment climate in Ukraine.
“What relation does this have to the investment climate? A direct and immediate relation, because parliamentary and public control over the defense and security sector is being intensified, and confidence in Ukraine as a reliable partner of NATO is growing,” he said. As reported, on February 28, 2018, the parliament received a presidential bill on national security of Ukraine (No. 8068) and it is immediately sent for consideration by the concerned committee.
