Similar to other European countries, Ukraine has declared its strive to complete shift to clean energy use. But on the way of the so-called “energy transition” natural gas will continue playing an important role for more than one decade – as a “transitional fuel”. In order not to be dependent on gas supplies, Ukraine has to increase its production, especially considering that the country has one of the largest gas reserves in Europe.
This and other important topics will be discussed at the Ukraine Gas Investment Congress, which starts on October, 20 in Kiev, involving business leaders from all around the world. On the eve of the Congress, Roman Abramovsky, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, is telling about the situation in the industry and prospects in a blitz interview.
“The State is ready not only to support, but also to act as a guarantor of complex risky projects. And I would like our international partners and investors to hear this message,” emphasizes Mr.Abramovsky.
Roman Abramovsky, the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine
Our intention to reduce the environmental impact is in line with the European Green Deal. We consider Ukraine as a member of the European community. Therefore, we share its aspirations, values and standards.
Our ministry acts as an engine and mouthpiece of changes in the ecosystem. This year, we have prepared proposals to reduce national greenhouse gas emissions by 65% compared with 1990 by 2030. The green course will have an impact on all economy sectors, including energy, manufacturing, transport, utilities, agriculture, forestry and waste management.
In particular, for the energy sector, there is a goal to increase power generation from renewable sources (solar and wind). Their share in power generation should grow to 17% in 2030 and up to 25% in 2035, which is provided for in the energy strategy of Ukraine. Ukraine is already one of the European leaders in the development of green energy generation and potential for further growth is far from exhausted.
Now we are also actively discussing the huge prospects of Ukraine in the area of hydrogen production and transmission. Namely, Naftogaz of Ukraine is already planning the first pilot projects in cooperation with Germany’s RWE.
Along with the development of green capabilities, we will decommission heat generating units with expired service life and provide for the gradual abandonment of coal mines. Of course, this will be accompanied by coal regions transformation programmes.
The energy transition cannot take place in an instant, especially in such a large, industrialised country with a high level of energy consumption. We will not be able to stop using fossil fuel completely, so like the rest of the world, we consider gas as a transitional energy carrier. In the next 10-15 years, its role will remain essential. First, as a replacement for coal that is significantly more harmful to the environment, and secondly, to provide room for manoeuvre.
Ukraine is lucky to have some of the largest gas fields in Europe, however at the same time, their potential was not fully utilised, and the country was losing both hydrocarbons and money. Since my appointment in 2020, I have initiated the development of large oil and gas bearing areas, where no exploration was previously carried out. In particular, I managed to restart the large Black Sea exploration project. At the end of 2020, Naftogaz of Ukraine obtained licenses for exploration of several dozen blocks. They have great potential and can open a new chapter for Ukraine’s oil and gas industry. This is evidenced by the success of our neighbours – Romania and Turkey, which have explored significant reserves in the Black Sea.
We have also started developing large onshore oil and gas fields that were previously inaccessible to investors, including the Yuzivske field, which is unique in size and potential.
The climate goals that we set for ourselves are ambitious and require huge resources. Therefore, over the next 10 years, Ukraine will need Euro102 billion of capital investment to finance decarbonisation projects.
Some of them will be provided by businesses. Companies should adjust their development plans to adapt to the Green Deal and decarbonisation. They need to understand that this is no longer a nice to have, but a mandatory requirement for their further sustainable development.
Part of the costs will be covered by the State. For example, by direct loans to businesses at acceptable interest rates so that businesses can introduce decarbonisation measures.
At the same time, we are very limited with our in-house resources, and I constantly emphasise this during meetings with foreign stakeholders, in particular, with the ambassadors of the G7 countries. Therefore, we count on external investment and are actively working to inform investors about the opportunities that await them in Ukraine. Compared to other European countries, the Ukrainian economy requires almost the largest investment. To attract attention of investors, we must offer almost turnkey projects with a guarantee of mutual benefit.
Today, Ukraine is improving the investment climate not with words, but with concrete actions. The State is ready not only to support, but also to act as a guarantor of complex risky projects. And I would like our international partners and investors to hear this message.
Without a doubt, it will be an outstanding event. Perhaps for the first time in many years, important issues of the energy industry and the energy transition will be considered with the involvement of the country’s leaders, international stakeholders and business representatives from more than 15 countries. This will be an opportunity to look at and assess risks and opportunities from different angles and from different perspectives.
I hope that that Ukraine Gas Investment Congress will become a platform for making important decisions, launching new projects and areas of cooperation.
Moreover, I hope that the Congress will help numerous investors and partners learn about the business opportunities that exist today in Ukraine, as well as what is being done to implement these opportunities as easily and quickly as possible.
Ukraine Gas Investment Congress received support from our Ministry and other government representatives. We will be happy to meet with all interested parties and will be open to discussions on topical issues.
Date and time: September 30 — October 1, 2021, 09:30 — 19:30 (Kyiv time).
Place: Hilton Kyiv, 30 Taras Shevchenko blvd, Kyiv, Ukraine.
Attention! Pre-registration is required to attend the event
https://uba.ua/eng/registration/4098/
The main goal of the event is to discuss topical issues related to the functioning of the judicial system in Ukraine with the representatives of judicial institutions, international and national experts. You will see such representative among the participants of the forum: judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, of the Supreme Court, representatives of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, People’s Deputies of Ukraine, judges and practicing lawyers, international experts, representative s of the Council of Europe, and the Media.
This year, the topic of the forum is «Independent Judiciary — the basis of the state in times of change». The event is organized by the Ukrainian Bar Association in cooperation with the Council of Europe Project «Support to the Implementation of the Judicial Reform in Ukraine». The program coordinator of the event is Anna Ogrenchuk, President of the Ukrainian Bar Association, Managing Partner at LCF Law Group.
The event will be held in an adaptive quarantine measures.
Main topics and Expert Talks:
The connection between the society development and the judiciary.
New tools for simplifying access to justice — recommendation of the Council of Europe and Ukrainian development.
Mediation: principles of the Council of Europe and possible ways of their implementation in Ukraine.
Strategy for the development of the justice system and constitutional justice for 2021 — 2023.
Judicial reform, reform of the ССU: recent developments and priority steps.
Ensuring the unity of judicial practice: the recommendations of the Council of Europe and the achievements of the judiciary of Ukraine.
Procedural dilemmas as challenges to ensuring the right to a fair trial.
Antitrust disputes.
20 years of implementation of ECHR decisions in Ukraine: an adult view of the state of affairs.
Enforcement of judgments: the international aspect.
All presentations by foreign experts are provided with simultaneous translation.
https://judicialforum.uba.ua/en/
FOR QUESTIONS ABOUT PARTICIPATION AND PARTNERSHIP:
+38 (044) 492-88-48, conference@uba.ua
Tatiana Osaulenko, event coordinator.
FOR MEDIA ACCREDITATION AND EVENT COVERAGE:
+38 (044) 492-88-48, pr@uba.ua
Yuliya Matvyeyeva, PR and international partnership coordinator.
Interfax-Ukraine — Media partner of the event.
Ukraine’s accession to the European Convention on a Common Transit Procedure is expected at the end of the second quarter of 2022, already in the third quarter Ukrainian enterprises will be able to go in transit through 35 countries on the principle of one vehicle – one transit declaration – one guarantor’s undertaking, Director of the Department for the Implementation of the International Transit System of the State Customs Service Serhiy Demchenko has said.
During a roundtable entitled “Implementation of customs procedures in accordance with EU practice: what changes may Ukrainian business expect? Practical aspects” held at Interfax-Ukraine, he said that these are all EU countries, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries, Turkey, Serbia, North Macedonia and the U.K.
The expert recalled that joining the Convention is stipulated by the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement and shall intensify international trade due to the establishment of joint transit procedures by Ukraine with the countries-members of the Convention and their use of a single technology – the New Computerised Transit System (NCTS) system. This system allows the member countries to exchange customs data in real time and monitor goods at every stage of transportation.
“The common transit system provides for four main special transit simplifications for enterprises: the authorized consignor, the authorized consignee, special sealing and a guarantee,” Demchenko said. He added that new approaches are being applied to the standard guarantee amount, which will reduce the amount when it is used by 50%, 70% or 100%.
To obtain simplifications in NCTS, the legislation provides for a special procedure. The guarantee can be provided by companies that have received the financial guarantor status. To submit a transit declaration to NCTS, a company needs to register on the Trader’s Portal in the “personal account” on the “Single Window for International Trade” portal.
“Ukrainian legislation on common transit has already been generally shaped and is in line with the best European practices,” International Key Expert on Customs reform of the EU4PFM Programme to improve Public Financial Management (PFM) in Ukraine, former Deputy Chairman of the Lithuanian Customs Service Vytenis Ališauskas said during the roundtable.
To date, more than 3,000 customs officials are registered in the system, more than 180 companies have access to the Trader’s Portal, about 300 T1UA declarations have been submitted, three companies have received the financial guarantor status, and the Helpdesk operates.
As reported, NCTS is still used in Ukraine on a national scale. However, as a representative of the State Customs Service said, “enterprises that use NCTS (have submitted 50 or more declarations) can submit documents to the State Customs Service for simplifications, which will be valid even after Ukraine joins the Convention, that is, with the international application of the system.”
ANISCHENKO, CUSTOMS, EXPORTERS_CLUB_OF_UKRAINE, LITVINOVA, UKRAINIAN_CHAMBER_OF_COMMERCE_AND_INDUSTRY, URAKIN, ДЕМЧЕНКО, МОСКАЛЕНКО, ЧИЖИКОВ
Ukraine is carrying out customs reform, one of the directions of which is the introduction of principles and instruments used in the EU countries. The EU, in turn, assists Ukraine in the development and implementation of such customs instruments. This was emphasized by the participants in the round table “Implementation of customs procedures in accordance with European practice: what changes should Ukrainian business expect? Practical aspects,” which took place at the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency on September 21, 2021.
The event was attended by President of the Exporters’ Club of Ukraine Yevhenia Litvinova, President of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Hennadiy Chizhikov, representatives of business associations, Director of the Customs Policy Department of the Finance Ministry of Ukraine Oleksandr Moskalenko, Director of the International Transit System Implementation Department of the State Customs Service of Ukraine Serhiy Demchenko, Director of the Department for Customs Audit and Registration of Persons of the State Customs Service Svitlana Anischenko, Head of the AEO Support Department of the Customs Control and Customs Clearance Organization Department of the State Customs Service Andriy Teply, the EU4PFM international expert on customs issues, ex-deputy head of customs of the Republic of Lithuania Vytenis Alisauskas.
Organizer and moderator of the round table Maksim Urakin noted that now the State Customs Service provides 35-40% of revenues to the state budget, and these figures have remained stable over the past years.
“In general, in January-August 2021, the State Customs Service fulfilled the revenue plan by 107% and transferred UAH 291 billion to the state budget (against the planned figure of UAH 272 billion). At the same time, in the eight months of this year, compared to the same period last year, receipts from customs payments increased by UAH 76 billion, or 36%,” Urakin emphasized.
In addition, the organizer noted that, based on the monitoring of data of Ukraine’s foreign economic activity in 2021, conducted by the Experts Club analytical center, the state budget revenues will continue to grow, as the country continues to increase the volume of international trade.
“Thus, exports to the EU countries in the first half of 2021 grew by 43.9% compared to the same period last year, imports – by 26.3%. The total volume of trade with the EU countries for the six months amounted to almost $ 25 billion, with China – about $ 9 billion. These data indicate that the stimulation of foreign trade through the harmonization of customs legislation is a key factor in the financial stability of the state, ensures budget replenishment and economic growth,” the speaker said.
The speakers provided an overview of the principles laid down in the EU Customs Code and the instruments used by EU countries to implement these principles; what of them should be expected in Ukraine (including thanks to the support of European partners), and which of these customs instruments are already being introduced or are close to being introduced in Ukraine – in particular, the common transit regime (NCTS), the Authorized Economic Operator Program (AEO) and customs audit.
Of particular interest to business representatives was the system of customs simplifications, which is used in the EU countries and is now being implemented in Ukraine – in particular, as part of implementation of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU.
Yevhenia Litvinova, the President of the Exporters Club of Ukraine, in turn, emphasized that it is important for business to know what changes await us.
“Do opportunities or additional costs await us? The round table will give an impetus to better understand the expected changes, to prepare for them, so that our exports after 2022 are painless, efficient and active,” she stressed.
“We want everything to be good at once, but the customs reform is not an easy process. But what we see now gives a large share of positive. And above all, we are moving towards the EU, including mentally,” Hennadiy Chizhikov, the President of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said.
According to Vytenis Alisauskas, the EU4PFM international expert on customs issues, the ex-deputy head of the customs of the Republic of Lithuania, the changes to the EU Customs Code fixed the new mission of the European customs. If earlier the customs had to protect the local market and collect customs duties, now it is becoming part of the international trade chain. And the competitiveness of local exporters depends on how it works.
The international expert focused on the tasks that must be solved with the help of the EU Customs Code – so that it would be profitable for an entrepreneur to be honest, so that a conscientious business could save his time and money, so that some of the processes that are (as a rule) performed at customs could be carried out by such a business on its own.
“An authorized economic operator (AEO) is a symbol of a conscientious entrepreneur who is trusted by customs and who has significant advantages in customs clearance,” he said.
Alisauskas highlighted the key tools used by European customs to save time for fair business – in addition to the simplification system (the AEO program and simplification in the general transit regime), this is a customs audit system (post-audit) and a customs risk management system.
International partners help create and implement these principles and tools in Ukraine.
Oleksandr Moskalenko, the Director of the Customs Policy Department of the Finance Ministry of Ukraine, stressed that the country is now working in the vector defined by the Constitution – European integration. Europe is our largest trading partner, and therefore, it is important to approximate, introduce the best European practices – so that European and Ukrainian customs work according to the same rules.
“We have completed a large layer of legislative changes. Now both the customs and the business must deploy all this. We need training, enlightenment, promotion. Therefore, I would like international partners to help us also conduct business training. So that all participants in the process not only have the rights, but also know how to use them,” he said.
In his opinion, the acceleration of customs clearance should be achieved not at the expense of a command to customs officers to “work quickly,” but at the expense of an efficiently built system.
“We are moving towards building partnerships between business and customs. It will take some time,” he concluded.
Serhiy Demchenko, the Director of the Department for the Implementation of the International Transit System of the State Customs Service, said that in the second quarter of 2022 Ukraine is expected to join the Convention on the Common Transit Procedure, and already in the third quarter of 2022 – the stage of Ukraine’s international application of the NCTS system.
“In a year, Ukrainian enterprises will be able to transit with 35 countries (including all EU countries, EFTA, Turkey, Great Britain) on the principle of “one vehicle – one transit declaration, one financial guarantee”,” Demchenko said.
He also informed about the main four special transit simplifications that the general transit system provides: an authorized consignor, an authorized consignee, self-sealing of a special type, a common financial guarantee. Regarding the guarantee, the Customs Service representative emphasized that new approaches are being applied that make it possible to reduce the amount of security for the base amount of the guarantee when it is used – by 50%, 70%, or 100%.
“As you know, now NCTS is used on a national scale, however, enterprises using this system (having issued 50 declarations or more) can apply for simplifications, which will also be valid for the international application of the system. Currently, the system has registered more than 3,000 officials of customs authorities, more than 180 companies gained access to the Trader Portal, about 300 T1UA declarations were submitted, three companies received the status of a financial guarantor, Helpdesk works, seven seminars were held with subjects of foreign economic activity,” the expert summed up.
According to Andriy Teply, the head of the AEO support department of Customs Control and Customs Clearance Organization at the State Customs Service, the full implementation of the functioning of the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Program is a priority of the State Customs Service for the next 2-3 years. Among the main challenges, he named the transformation of customs-business relations: such relations today are built on the distrust of business in customs, but should be open and partnership.
As you know, the Authorized Economic Operator Program has been operating in Ukraine since August 2020. Its implementation is stipulated by the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU. It provides a number of simplifications and advantages in customs clearance. To obtain the status, it is necessary to go through a rather difficult and lengthy authorization procedure.
“As of September 2021, the State Customs Service received five applications for authorization of the AEO. Of these, one enterprise was granted authorization as the AEO, two were denied an assessment, while two applications are under preliminary consideration,” the expert said.
Svitlana Anischenko, the Director of the Department for Customs Audit and Personnel Registration of the State Customs Service, stressed that customs audit in Europe is more focused on foreign economic activity and acts as a system that allows speeding up the process of customs clearance.
“We feel the need to create a high-quality IT tool – with the support of European partners, the first version of the Customs Audit information system was created, in August-September it is tested by customs. A month ago, an agreement was reached with European partners to support the creation of the second version. Also, the development of a risk management system for the selection of enterprises for customs audit has begun,” she said.
The event record can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VBpReShdr8.
The organizers of the event are the European Union Project EU4PFM “Public Finance Management Support Program in Ukraine,” the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Exporters’ Club of Ukraine, and the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
ANISCHENKO, CUSTOMS, EXPORTERS_CLUB_OF_UKRAINE, LITVINOVA, UKRAINIAN_CHAMBER_OF_COMMERCE_AND_INDUSTRY, URAKIN, ДЕМЧЕНКО, МОСКАЛЕНКО, ЧИЖИКОВ
National online cinema SWEET.TV plans in 2021 to dub and voice over 50 films and 100 trailers in Ukrainian.
As director of SWEET.TV Oleksandr Rezunov said during a conference at the press center of Interfax-Ukraine, popularization of the Ukrainian language and Ukrainian-language content is the platform’s social mission.
“For us, Ukrainianization of cinema has long become the norm. That is why the ‘Hollywood in Ukrainian’ project was created – the main social project of SWEET.TV. Within its framework, we, at our own expense, implement Ukrainian dubbing and voicing of films, cartoons and TV series that have not previously been translated into Ukrainian. To implement this project, SWEET.TV became the first Ukrainian online cinema to enter into direct contracts with Hollywood film studios specifically for the territory of Ukraine, not the CIS,” he said.
According to Rezunov, during the year of the project’s existence, 181 films, cartoons and TV series received the Ukrainian-language audio track. Also, 829 trailers sounded in Ukrainian.
“By the end of 2021, we plan to dub and voice more than 50 films and more than 100 trailers. We also created our own Foundation for the Development of Ukrainian Cinema and Television, where we transfer UAH 10 from each paid connection to SWEET.TV. The collected funds are directed to the implementation of new projects of talented Ukrainian directors,” Rezunov said.
According to him, there are significant opportunities for the growth of OTT services in Ukraine: out of almost 15 million households in the country, only 4-4.5 million use pay TV services.
“Some 10 million Ukrainian households have never paid for television. They are the prospect for the development of the streaming services market, the so-called ‘growth zone’ for OTT companies,” the SWEET.TV director said.
SWEET.TV is a Ukrainian OTT platform with over 260 TV channels, including HD and 4K, as well as products from Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks, etc.
The platform has direct contracts with Disney, Paramount, Universal, Sony and other international content producers for dubbing media products specifically for the territory of Ukraine, and not for the CIS. The service creates Ukrainian-language dubbing for cult Hollywood films in the “Hollywood in Ukrainian” project.
National online cinema SWEET.TV stands for the introduction of liability for the population for the use of pirated content.
During a press conference at the press center of Interfax-Ukraine, SWEET.TV director Oleksandr Rezunov said that the operation of pirate services in Ukraine is still very active, which is primarily due to high demand from users.
“This issue requires a tough reaction from the state. And the introduction of liability for consumers of pirated content. Also, due to pirated sites, Ukrainian content producers lose millions of hryvnia. This leads to insufficient funding for future projects and reduces the quality of the content produced,” he said.
According to Rezunov, the issue of developing a mechanism for introducing such a penalty is on the side of the legislative branch.
“The size of the fine I would introduce is small, purely symbolic – about UAH 100. Why is this needed? Not to take money from consumers. The main problem of the market is that people do not always understand or forget that they are watching illegal content, and the industry loses from this, the state loses taxes, copyright holders lose royalties and cannot produce high-quality content. A purely symbolic fine would lead to the fact that a person remembered about it,” the SWEET.TV director said.
To combat piracy, SWEET.TV became a member of the Supervisory Board of the Media & Communication Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine. In addition, the company is a member of the Clear Sky anti-piracy initiative.
The SWEET.TV director called the high activity of international broadcasting platforms another problem of the Ukrainian pay TV market.
“In Ukraine, it is necessary to introduce equal conditions for doing business. In particular, the requirements regarding language quotas are practically not applied to foreign media platforms. There is no practical implementation of tax norms – now the adopted regulatory legal acts introducing VAT payment by nonresidents who provide online media services simply do not work,” Rezunov said.
He also stressed that Russian streaming services available on the territory of Ukraine, in fact, violate Ukrainian legislation in terms of the unhindered broadcasting of content from Russian media that have come under sanctions.
SWEET.TV is a Ukrainian OTT platform with over 260 TV channels, including HD and 4K, as well as products from Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks, etc.
The platform has direct contracts with Disney, Paramount, Universal, Sony and other international content producers for dubbing media products specifically for the territory of Ukraine, and not for the CIS. The service creates Ukrainian-language dubbing for cult Hollywood films in the “Hollywood in Ukrainian” project.
