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.
Members of the monetary policy committee of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) after a meeting on February 28, 2018 were equally of the opinion that there are no grounds for toughening the monetary policy in April, if the refinancing rate is increased to 17%. “At present, all members of the committee have come to an agreement that if the refinancing rate is raised to 17%, the need for its further increase in April is not obvious,” the committee said in the minutes of the February meeting, posted on the NBU website.
The National Bank recalled that at the January meeting, most members of the committee pointed out the existence of a probability of a further increase in the refinancing rate in the short term, in the absence of significant signs of a reduction in inflationary pressures.
During the last meeting, some members of the committee also said that previous decisions to tighten monetary policy had not yet fully transformed into an equivalent increase in rates on deposits of individuals, although they stopped the downward trend in rates.
At the same time, the members of the committee said that the inflation risks that were discussed at the meeting in January remain relevant. Among these risks are the high vulnerability of the Ukrainian economy due to the delay in attracting the next loan tranche under the program of cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the growth of inflation expectations of economic agents, as well as the significant consumer demand growth pace.
The Japanese government will allocate over $500,000 in grant aid to Ukraine in 2018 for the implementation of seven health, rehabilitation and education projects in Zhytomyr, Kherson and Kirovohrad regions and in the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv and Mykolaiv, the press service of the Japanese Embassy in Ukraine has reported.
According to the report, financial aid will be provided as part of the second stage of financing the Kusanone program for supporting human security projects.
The ceremony of signing seven grant agreements with charitable and public organizations on the Kusanone project will be held on March 15 with the participation of Japanese Ambassador to Ukraine Shigeki Sumi.
A branch of the Embassy of Ukraine in the Argentine Republic has been opened in Santiago de Chile (Chile) – the first Ukrainian diplomatic mission in Chile.
Representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile, Mario Luis Silva, opening the ceremony, stressed that the opening of the Ukrainian diplomatic mission is an important stage in the development of bilateral Ukrainian-Chilean relations, since it will give new impetus to the development of relations in all spheres.
In his turn, Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Serhiy Kyslytsia also expressed belief that the opening of the Ukrainian institution will contribute to the intensification of cooperation between the parties. “Taking into account the important reforms that are currently taking place in our countries, we now have an additional instrument for intensifying our relations, first of all in the trade, investment and scientific and technological spheres, where there is a significant potential for development of cooperation,” he said.
The Ukrainian official thanked the Republic of Chile for supporting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine in the conditions of Russian aggression.
