Reference UAH/USD exchange rate in the interbank foreign exchange market as of 12:00 on June 12, 2024.
Indicator 11.06.2024 12.06.2024 Change, %
Reference UAH/USD exchange rate (UAH/$) 40.5638 40.4186 -0.36
Data: NBU.
The Pranas Gudinas Center for Restoration of Museum Valuables of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art will help restore 100 paintings by Maria Primachenko, the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture and Information Policy said.
“The center is the main training base for restorers of movable art treasures in Lithuania, particularly paintings and tapestries. Master classes, seminars and lectures related to the preservation and care of museum collections are held here,” the press service of the Ministry of Culture said in a statement following a visit to the Center by acting Minister of Culture and Information Policy Rostislav Karandeev.
The Center’s restorers have already examined and restored more than 50 paintings and 1,000 graphic works from Ukrainian museums, and another 600 works and at least two Ukrainian interns are expected in the near future.
“In addition, in the near future in this center will be restored 100 paintings by Maria Primachenko from the state part of the Museum Fund of Ukraine from the funds of the communal institution ‘Zaporizhzhya Regional Art Museum’ of the Zaporizhzhya Regional Council”, – stated in the message.
As of today, paintings from the Ukrainian Khanenko Museum are being restored, and Lithuanians are also restoring a Ukrainian carpet from Mariupol.
On June 1, 2024, the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine hosted an artistic event dedicated to the 214th anniversary of the Argentine May Revolution and the 78th anniversary of the Day of the Italian Republic, dedicated to the Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla.
This joint project was initiated and supported by the Embassy of the Argentine Republic in Ukraine, the Embassy of Italy and the Italian Cultural Institute in Ukraine in cooperation with the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine.
The artistic event of the friendly states of Italy and Argentina was a great manifestation of solidarity with the Ukrainian people and a significant example of cultural diplomacy.
At the beginning of the concert, the anthems of Italy, Argentina and Ukraine were performed by the Orchestra of Folk Instruments under the direction of Honored Artist of Ukraine Andriy Ivanysh.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Argentine Republic to Ukraine Ms. Elena Leticia Teresa Mukusinski, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Italian Republic to Ukraine Mr. Pier Francesco Zazzo and Acting Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine Mr. Rostyslav Karandieiev delivered welcoming speeches.
In her speech, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Argentine Republic to Ukraine, Ms. Elena Leticia Teresa Mukusinski, elaborated on the common history of Argentina and Italy in organizing this cultural event.
Between 1847 and 1957, Argentina received about 3 million Italian immigrants and it is estimated that 60% of the population of
Argentina are of Italian descent. Argentina is the Latin American country with the largest number of Italian immigrants, ranking second in the Americas after the United States.
In addition, Argentina has the largest Italian community on its territory, followed by Germany, Switzerland, Brazil and France. 15% of Italians who have settled abroad live in Argentina.
In fact, General Manuel Belgrano, a national hero who played one of the most important roles in the process of Argentina’s independence when the First National Government was formed in May 1810 and became the creator of the Argentine flag, was the son of an Italian immigrant from the province of Imperia in the Liguria region.
The list of Argentine presidents of Italian descent is no less significant: Bartolomé Mitre, Carlos Pellegrini, Arturo Frondisi, Arturo Illia, Mauricio Macri, and our current president, Javier Milei.
And the number of famous people, artists, scientists, scholars and athletes is countless, including Pope Francis, Juan Manuel Fangio, Clorindo Testa and, among others, our dear Astor Piazzolla,” the diplomat said.
The Ambassador also expressed her deep admiration for the courage and resilience of the Ukrainian nation: “As you know, Argentina has voted against Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in all UN General Assembly resolutions and international forums. We are participating in two working groups of President Zelenskyy’s “Formula for Peace”.”
For his part, the Ambassador of the Republic of Italy to Ukraine, Pier Francesco Zazzo, noted in his speech that Astor Piazzolla “was not only considered one of the greatest composers of the twentieth century for his unique tango works, which also contains elements of jazz and classical music, but he was also a descendant of an Italian family in Argentina, and his compositions intertwine Italian roots with the Argentine soul, symbolizing the unbreakable friendship between two nations united by a passion for music and culture.”
A musical gift for the guests was a performance by the world-famous Italian bandoneon player Mario Stefano Pietrodarki accompanied by the Academy’s string quintet and orchestra of accordionists under the direction of artistic director and conductor Joseph Franz.
Maestro Pietrodarki captivated the audience with his virtuoso playing and unsurpassed style of performance, performing works by the legendary Argentine musician and composer Astor Piazzolla, as well as by no less legendary Italian composers Ennio Morricone, Nino Rota, and Niccolo Piovani.
Argentina recognized Ukraine on December 5, 1991. On January 6, 1992, Ukraine and Argentina established diplomatic relations. The Argentine Embassy in Ukraine was opened in May 1993.
Italy recognized Ukraine’s independence on December 28, 1991. Diplomatic relations with the Italian Republic were established on January 29, 1992.
Since the full-scale invasion, the Pokrovske community has become a real humanitarian hub, receiving various types of assistance from representatives of both Ukrainian organizations and international foundations on a daily basis. All of them are united by a common goal – to help civilians in confronting the enemy.
An equally important component of this cooperation is the openness to interaction of the Pokrovske MCA leaders, who work daily to “cover” all the needs of the community.
Recently, the town was visited by representatives of the Volunteer Coordination Headquarters (Kyiv), a charity organization that works closely with European countries on humanitarian aid.
“The winner is the one who destroys the enemy’s strategic plan. Therefore, all attention is focused on Donetsk region, because it is the “most important” region. Since 2022, we have been actively helping our defenders and the frontline communities of Donetsk Oblast, whose residents suffer from shelling every day,” said Oleksandr Kuzniak, the foundation’s chairman.
During the visit to Pokrovsk, the volunteer philanthropists met with the heads of the military administration, including Natalia Ivanio, deputy head of the Pokrovsk MVA, and discussed the needs of the community.
They brought power tools that will be useful for the city’s utility workers.
“We come to Donetsk region at least once a month. We form a truck with humanitarian cargo according to the needs that the military and community leaders send us. This is not the first time we have been in Pokrovsk, and we are working closely with Sergey Dobryak, who is always open to cooperation, especially in humanitarian issues. We plan to continue to support the Pokrovsk community, which is located in close proximity to the front line. It is extremely important today,” added Mr. Kuzniak.
In her turn, Natalia Ivanio, Deputy Head of the Pokrovske MVA, thanked the benefactors for their help and active social position.
Ambassador Darkhan Kaletaev participated in the presentation of the Budinok Mami Resource Center in Kyiv.
The presentation was attended by representatives of the Secretariat of the First Lady, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, UNICEF, Office of the Ombudsman of Ukraine, Kyiv State City Administration, National Children’s Specialized Clinic “OCHMATDIT”, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ukraine, Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and diplomats of European states and CIS countries accredited in Ukraine, Ukrainian businessmen, media representatives, etc. The project is implemented by the Public Foundation “Anaүi” with the support of the Ambassador of Kazakhstan.
The project is realized by the Public Foundation “Ana Uyi” with the support of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Ukraine.
Executive Director of the Public Foundation “Ana Uyi” Azharkul Klyshbaeva during the presentation informed about the first year of work of the resource center “Budinok Mami”. From July 2023 until now 18 women have received the necessary assistance, as a result of which 24 children have avoided institutionalization. The Foundation plans to open similar institutions in other regions of Ukraine.
The project is being implemented in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Malaysia and Azerbaijan.
Ukrainian exporters of products to EU countries and the Ukrainian government should pay more attention to the problem of decarbonization within the Green Deal strategy and, in particular, CBAM – an additional tax for goods with a high level of carbonization during production, which comes into effect from 2026.
This opinion was expressed by experts and representatives of companies during a roundtable discussion held at the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency on Tuesday on “The impact of CBAM on domestic exporters”.
Olga Kulik, Director of the Department of Ecology of Energy and Green Economy of the Federation of Employers of Ukraine, noted that CBAM is very important, it affects exporters, every enterprise.
According to her, during a recent business trip she communicated with representatives of enterprises and structures in Europe, they collect information on CBAM reports. At the same time, if European companies realize the requirement for verification of emission reports, Ukrainian enterprises have problems in this direction, in particular, Ukrainian verifiers must be accredited by the European Commission.
“Verification by data – time is going fast, and we cannot delay these problems. Therefore, the Ministry of Economy together with the Ministry of Ecology will negotiate so that verification will be accredited in the EC. But so far the issue has not been resolved,” Kulik said.
On the other hand, according to her, European countries also have certain problems with the unified standardization of a number of points, with further steps to implement the “green” initiative. It is necessary to create a working group, for work within the framework of which Ukraine should receive an invitation.
In turn, the director of the information and analytical center GMK Center Stanislav Zinchenko stated that by implementing the SWAM mechanism the EU protects its markets. And in the future similar mechanisms will be introduced in other countries, such as the UK, USA, Australia.
“This is a new wave of protectionism, this is ‘green’ protectionism and it will step the planet. It will lead to a reformatting of flows, but it will also help reduce emissions,” Zinchenko predicts, adding that there are currently not enough emission verifiers in the EU, in Ukraine and globally.
“Less than 10% of the 20,000 companies in Germany that were supposed to report on time have done so. And in Ukraine there are also problems with the reports, with the methodology. A very crude procedure, a crude experiment, but it is starting to affect Ukrainian companies. Ukraine does not have a single document on SWAM”, – stated the expert.
According to him, due to force majeure circumstances because of the war, Ukraine may not be subject to the requirement to submit verified reports from 2026, but only declarative reports on SWAM, without payment for certificates.
According to him, in case of introduction of strict requirements of the SWAM, Ukraine’s losses, if calculated at 2023 prices, may amount to $600 million for pig iron exports (“minus” 1.4 million tons), $640 million for semi-finished products, and $200 million for rolled products. In general, losses at steel enterprises may reach $1.5 billion.
Other industries will also suffer losses.
“We do not see the interest of either the government or the ministries, which should conduct constant negotiations. And the EU is surprised why Ukraine is not actively involved in this process. Unfortunately, part of the government employees believe that this is a problem of business, not the Cabinet,” Zinchenko summarized.
Arzinger partner, head of the Energy and Natural Resources, Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development practice Angelika Livitskaya emphasized that SWAM is a mix of ecology and economics, and Ukraine has an obligation to implement EU legislation in Ukraine.
“We are implementing a number of waste management regulations. And we expect more cooperation from the government and ministries. It is unlikely that we will make it by 2050, but we have a commitment,” Livitskaya said.
According to her, cement, steel, aluminum, and fertilizers will fall mainly under SWAM. And it is necessary to submit reports by May 31 of each year, the first time – by May 31, 2027 with a report for 2026. Failure to submit reports will result in significant fines, from EUR10 to EUR50 for each ton of emissions.
“The government needs to raise the issue of force majeure for Ukrainian enterprises,” Livitskaya believes.
Lyudmyla Kripka, executive director of the Ukrcement association, noted that Ukrainian enterprises have the opportunity to declaratively submit emission reports.
“We initiated such a procedure, we are not obliged to buy SWAM certificates under force majeure circumstances. We offer and ask to work within the framework of SWAM on a declarative principle,” – emphasized Kripka.
The President of Ukrmetallurgprom OP Oleksandr Kalenkov noted that metallurgical enterprises consider SWAM as an irreversible process: “One way or another, it will be implemented and will be worldwide, it will lead to some reformatting of trade all over the world”.
Previously up to a third of steel products went to the EU, the share has now increased due to the blocking of the sea route, and it could increase if the blockade resumes.
“It is important for the government to get involved in the process, to pay more attention to it,” Kalenkov stressed, noting that Euro companies from this eco-initiative receive certain subsidies for their development and modernization.
“It is necessary to level the playing field between Ukrainian and European companies – to apply force majeure conditions for Ukrainian enterprises. It is necessary to approach this issue comprehensively, to take into account the issues of modernization of companies. The Ministry of Industry and Ministry of Economy are involved in this process, but it is important that there is one center that will manage this process, so that a unified position is communicated to European colleagues”, – said the head of Ukrmetallurgprom.
He also believes it is necessary to create a competitive market of verifiers in Ukraine so that both local and European companies could work here.
Earlier, the head of international relations of Metinvest Group Andriy Kryl during Ukraine’s Future Summit said that soon a new obstacle for Ukrainian companies to work in the European market will be the carbon duty (CBAM), which will work in full in 18 months. The top manager expressed hope that thanks to the dialog between the Ukrainian government and the European Commission these obstacles can be overcome and trade flows will remain uninterrupted.
In turn, Vladyslav Varnavskiy, Director for Ecology and Industrial Safety of Interpipe, at the “Exporters’ Summit” organized by Forbes Ukraine, noted that companies should pay more attention to environmental projects within the framework of the EU requirements on the topic of “green” economy – Green Deal and CBAM. And clarified that despite the fact that this topic is becoming increasingly broad and not only political, but also economic and public, in Ukraine so far few companies pay attention to it, even exporters of products to the EU.
As stated on the website of the European Commission, the “green” agreement (Green Deal) is a strategy that should bring the EU economy to a modern, resource-efficient and competitive state through commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 and stop completely by 2050.
ANZHELIKA LIVITSKA, CBAM, LUDMYLA KRIPKA, MAXIM URAKIN, OLEXANDR KALENKOV, OLHA KULYK, STANISLAV ZINCHENKO
