The membership negotiations began on Tuesday, a landmark move aimed in particular at signaling a vote of confidence in Ukraine’s future.
The European Union launched accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova on Tuesday, June 25, setting the fragile ex-Soviet states on a long path towards membership that Russia has tried to block. The landmark move is aimed in particular at signaling a vote of confidence in Ukraine’s future as Moscow has momentum on the battlefield almost two and a half years into the Kremlin’s invasion.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky called it a “historic day” ahead of the start of talks between officials from Kyiv and the EU’s 27 member states in Luxembourg. “We will never be derailed from our path to a united Europe and to our common home of all European nations,” the Ukrainian leader wrote on social media.
Ukraine and later its neighbour Moldova lodged their bids to join the EU in the immediate aftermath of Russia’s all-out assault in February 2022. The start of the talks marks just the beginning of a protracted process of reforms strewn with political obstacles that will likely take many years — and may never lead to membership.
Read more Subscribers only European Union approves opening of formal accession negotiations with Ukraine
Standing in the way along that journey will be not just Russia’s efforts at destabilisation but reticence from doubters inside the EU, most notably Hungary. But European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen called the opening of talks “very good news for the people of Ukraine, Moldova, and the entire European Union. The path ahead will be challenging but full of opportunities,” she wrote on X on Tuesday.
So far, Ukraine – represented at the talks by Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishyna – has won plaudits for kickstarting a raft of reforms on curbing graft and political interference, even as war rages. “Today is a historic day for Ukraine and Moldova, but also for the EU,” said Germany’s Europe minister Anna Luehrmann. “Both countries have made enormous progress in the area of the rule of law, the fight against corruption and freedom of the press.”
Complex process
Russia’s war in Ukraine has reinvigorated a push in the EU to take on new members, after years in which countries particularly in the Western Balkans made little progress on their hopes to join. The EU in December 2023 also granted candidate status to another of Russia’s former Soviet neighbours, Georgia. It likewise approved accession negotiations with Bosnia and has talks ongoing with Serbia, Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia.
The meetings with Ukraine and Moldova on Tuesday will set off a process of screening of how far laws in the countries already comply with EU standards and how much more work lies ahead. Once that is done the EU then has to begin laying out conditions for negotiations on 35 subjects – from taxation to environmental policy.
It appears unlikely that there will be progress onto the next step in the coming six months, when Hungary – the friendliest country to Russia in the bloc – holds the EU’s rotating presidency. “It’s very difficult to say at what stage Ukraine is,” said Hungary’s Europe minister Janos Boka. “From what I see here as we speak, they are very far from meeting the accession criteria.”
The start of the talks resonates powerfully in Ukraine as it was a desire for closer ties with the EU that sparked protests back in 2014 that eventually spiralled into the full-blown crisis with Russia. The talks also come at a tense time in Moldova after the United States, Britain and Canada warned of a Russian “plot” to influence the country’s presidential elections coming up in October.
Wedged between war-torn Ukraine and EU member Romania, Moldova’s pro-Western authorities frequently accuse the Kremlin of interfering in its internal affairs. President Maia Sandu has accused Moscow – which has troops stationed in a breakaway region of the country – of aiming to destabilise Moldova ahead of the vote. “Our future is within the European family,” Sandu wrote on X. “We are stronger together.”
Le Monde with AFP
Concern-Electron JSC (Lviv) will pay dividends to shareholders for 2023 totaling UAH 8 million at the rate of UAH 0.5 per share (par value UAH 3.5) from June 25 to October 26 this year.
According to the information in the information disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC), the decision to pay dividends was made by the general meeting of shareholders on April 26.
According to the company’s financial report on its website, in 2023, its consolidated net profit amounted to almost UAH 17 million, compared to a consolidated loss of UAH 26.1 million a year earlier.
In particular, the net profit of the parent organization, Concern-Electron JSC, amounted to UAH 13.1 million (a loss of UAH 23.5 million a year earlier) on revenues of UAH 0.3 million (at the level of 2022).
Concern-Electron Group, in addition to the parent organization, includes 12 assets, and employed 688 people at the beginning of 2024 (752 people a year earlier).
As of the beginning of this year, Concern-Electron JSC’s shareholders numbered 20.468 thousand people, and the owners of more than 5% of the shares are President and Chairman of the Board Yuriy Bubes (5.6% of shares), Chairman of the Supervisory Board Sergey Medvedev (5.06%), as well as Victoria Starodub (8.73%) and Mikhail Sholomitsky (5.76%).
Last year, the largest net income in the group was generated by Spheros-Electron Plant LLC, a manufacturer of heaters and heat exchangers for cars, which generated UAH 167.5 million (55% more than in 2022) with an 82% increase in net profit to UAH 24.9 million. Concern-Electron JSC holds an 80% stake in the company.
Vehicle manufacturer Zavod Elektronmash LLC, in which Concern-Electron JSC owns a 55% stake, showed a 23.5% decrease in net income to UAH 129.8 million, and net profit amounted to UAH 0.9 million against a loss of about UAH 10 million a year earlier.
The group’s top three in terms of net income last year also included FLC’s subsidiary Electron-Leasing, which leases equipment and vacant premises in office business centers, as well as industrial and warehouse space. The company increased its revenue by 18.6% to UAH 101.9 million, earning UAH 4.1 million in net profit.
Another major subsidiary, Polymer-Electron Plant (production of plastic and polystyrene foam products), ended 2023 with a net profit of UAH 1.2 million against a loss of UAH 0.8 million, with net income increasing by 30% to UAH 80.4 million.
As reported, Concern-Electron JSC also paid dividends of UAH 0.5 per share in 2022.
Changes in revenue of the consolidated budget in 2021-2023 (%)
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
PrJSC Ingulets Mining and Processing Plant (InGOK, Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro region), a member of Metinvest Group, reduced its net loss by 5 times to UAH 167.235 million in 2023 from UAH 851.259 million in 2022.
According to the decision of the sole shareholder, Metinvest B.V. (Netherlands), which owns 100% of the shares of PJSC “InGOK”, at its meeting on April 30, 2024, the losses for 2023 will be covered by future periods.
Another shareholder’s decision – at the meeting of May 14, 2024 – changed the company’s management structure to a one-tier one with the corresponding amendments to the charter. At the same time, after the registration of the updated charter, the supervisory board was dissolved and a four-member board of directors was created. It includes Metinvest CEO Yuriy Ryzhenkov, Metinvest CFO Yulia Dankova and Metinvest Legal Director Svetlana Romanova as non-executive directors for three years, as well as Igor Tonev as executive director, whose position as CEO is being eliminated.
Earlier, based on the shareholder’s decision of March 23, 2024, Oleksandr Gerasymchuk’s powers as CEO were terminated by agreement of the parties, and Tonev was appointed CEO.
On May 24, 2024, the state registration of the new version of the charter of InGOK took place. On May 25 this year, at a meeting of the Board of Directors of InGOK, Metinvest’s CFO Yulia Dankova was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors for a term from May 25, 2024 to May 24, 2027 inclusive. Igor Tonev was elected Chief Executive Officer with a term of office from May 25, 2024 to April 2, 2025 inclusive. And it was determined that in accordance with clause 7.8 of the charter of InGOK, the chief executive officer in the general activities, organizational structure, staffing and document flow of the company is called the general director.
By the shareholder’s decision of June 13, 2024, at its meeting, the net profit of UAH 1 billion 613.7 million received in January-March of this year is allocated to pay dividends for 2024. At the same time, almost UAH 0.585 of dividends are paid per ordinary share.
The Board of Directors of the company (Minutes No. 2 dated June 14, 2024) decided to establish the date of compiling the list of persons entitled to receive dividends, the procedure and term for their payment. The start date of dividend payment is July 1, 2024, and the end date of dividend payment is December 13, 2024 inclusive.
As reported, InGOK completed 9 months of the year. 2023 with a net loss of UAH 1 billion 316.821 million, while in the same period of 2022 it received a net profit of UAH 113.843 million. The company’s retained earnings as of the end of September 23 amounted to UAH 13 billion 869.051 million.
InGOK ended 2022 with a net loss of UAH 851.259 million, while in 2021 it received UAH 20 billion 446.101 million in net profit. In 2020, InGOK reduced its net profit by 75.3% year-on-year to UAH 1.5 billion.
It was also reported that in April this year, Metinvest introduced a new model for the operation of Kryvyi Rih mining enterprises, uniting mining and processing plants in Kryvyi Rih under a single management. Central, Ingulets and Northern GOKs are managed by a single administrative and management center. For this purpose, a mining department was set up within the group’s operating directorate. The department is headed by Igor Tonev, who has also been appointed as the sole CEO of the three GOKs. Prior to this position, he was the head of Metinvest-SMC, a sales company, since 2019, and has been with Metinvest since 2011.
The company specializes in the extraction and processing of ferruginous quartzite from the Ingulets deposit located in the southern part of the Kryvyi Rih iron ore basin. It produces iron ore concentrate. The company’s production capacity is 14 million tons of iron ore concentrate per year.
Metinvest B.V. (Netherlands) owns 100% of the shares of PrJSC “InGOK”.
The authorized capital of PrJSC “InGOK” is UAH 689.906 million, the share price is UAH 0.25.
InGOK is a part of Metinvest Group, whose major shareholders are System Capital Management (SCM, Donetsk, 71.24%) and Smart Holding Group (23.76%). Metinvest Group’s management company is Metinvest Holding LLC.
TAS-DniproVagonMash LLC (DVM, Kamianske, Dnipro region), a major Ukrainian railcar manufacturer controlled by businessman Sergiy Tigipko’s TAS Financial and Industrial Group, ended January-March 2024 with a net profit of UAH 7.17 million, down 5.2 times from the same period in 2023.
According to the company’s interim reporting, published on Monday in the information disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC), its net income in the first quarter decreased by 4.4% to UAH 379.24 million.
The company reduced its gross profit by 42.4% to UAH 34.26 million, earning UAH 9.31 million in operating profit (4 times less).
The report notes that 177 railcars were produced during the reporting period, accounting for 28% of the total Ukrainian freight car production. Among the main competitors are Kryukiv Carriage Works, Karpaty OMZ, and Ukrzaliznytsia plants.
The company sold 157 freight cars (in the first quarter of 2023, the number was not specified) at an average selling price of UAH 2.162 million.
The main clients are Overfood LLC, Weststar Group, and Ukrros-trans.
According to the company, exports amounted to UAH 1.6 million (0.4% of sales).
“Russian aggression has dramatically changed the freight base of rail logistics in Ukraine, and as a result, freight traffic has more than halved. The largest share of the decline was in the mining and metals, fuel and energy, and construction sectors,” the company reminds.
“TAS-Dniprovagonma notes that in the first quarter of this year, the demand for railcars continued to decline in the railcar market.
Among the reasons are the restrictions on the maximum service life of railcars canceled in 2021, the deterioration of the Grain Corridor in the ports of Greater Odesa due to constant aggravations, the blockade of western border crossings by European agricultural market participants, and an increase in the turnover of rolling stock due to the lack of traction rolling stock at Ukrzaliznytsia due to significant wear and tear.
As reported, in early 2023, TAS Group became a strategic investor in the TransAnt GmbH railcar building joint venture of Austrian Voestalpine and ÖBB Rail Cargo with a 40% stake, and in the spring of 2024 it became the majority shareholder in TransAnt, increasing its stake to 61%.
In October 2023, TAS Dneprovagonmash shipped the first lightweight modular freight cars (MultiBOX) for use on EU railways, and by the end of the year it had a full line of platform freight cars for the EU market.
According to Tigipko, TAS Dneprovagonmash plans to sell up to 100 railcars for export to Europe, with the average price of a railcar being around EUR100 thousand.
This year, the company plans to invest UAH 100.2 million in the development of the European direction (for the purchase of equipment): UAH 4.8 million in the first quarter, UAH 7.4 million in the second quarter, UAH 62.8 million in the third quarter, and UAH 25.2 million in the fourth quarter.
It is also planned to invest UAH 15 million in energy saving this year, and UAH 20 million in other investments (certification, testing, development of regulatory documentation).
As reported, in 2023 the company produced 378 freight cars (including for the EU market), which is 34.8% less than in 2022, while sales decreased by 40.6% to 370 units.
Net income from sales of railcars and other products decreased by 2.8% to UAH 1 billion 77 million, while net profit increased slightly to UAH 49.2 million.
TAS Group was founded in 1998 by businessman Tigipko. Its business interests include the financial sector (banking and insurance) and the pharmacy sector, as well as industry, real estate, and venture capital projects.
In the 2024-2025 marketing year (MY, September 2024-August 2025), Ukraine will be able to export more than 60% of its agricultural products despite the constant shelling of critical infrastructure and problems with electricity, said Acting Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotskyi during a national telethon.
“We remain an export-oriented country in terms of agriculture. Most of the products we grow will be exported. Most likely, it will be more than 60%,” he said.
Vysotsky called safe and affordable logistics the main component of agricultural exports during a full-scale war.
“The military has done a lot here. But again, we see that the enemy does not stop, constantly shelling, in particular, the southern regions. We will actively work to ensure this logistics and the necessary systematic access of critical infrastructure to energy,” he emphasized.
The Acting Minister also reminded that many export operations, such as unloading, sorting, and distribution, require electricity.
“There are relevant government decisions that guarantee that the infrastructure critical to the agricultural sector can have access to uninterrupted electricity supply. Basic facilities have been included in the list. Everything is being done to ensure that these two challenges do not stop our production and exports,” summarized the head of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy.
