The agreement between Ukraine and the EU on the liberalization of cargo transportation has been prolonged until 30 June 2024. The document, signed in June 2022, removes the need for Ukrainian carriers to obtain permits for bilateral and transit traffic to EU countries.
According to Deputy Prime Minister – the head of the Ministry of Transport Oleksandr Kubrakov in Facebook, the relevant agreement was reached at the first meeting of the joint committee of the Agreement on freight transport by road.
“During the first year the agreement has proved its practical effectiveness. For the period of its validity, the volume of bilateral and transit road freight traffic has increased by more than 50%,” he noted.
After the agreement was signed on June 29, 2022, the number of carriers crossing the border toward the EU increased by 53% compared to the same period in 2021, and the number of crossings itself increased by 43%.
The Deputy Prime Minister noted the potential for further growth, in particular through the joint development with European partners of the necessary logistical infrastructure at the border. He reminded that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, two new checkpoints have been opened on the Romanian border, as well as a control point on the temporary infrastructure for empty trucks at the border with Poland. In addition, the capacity of the Krakivets-Korcheva checkpoint was expanded and the operation of the Jagodin-Dorogusk checkpoint on the border with Poland was streamlined.
“The effective implementation of the “transport visa-free” brings us closer to our main foreign policy goal – gaining EU membership,” Kubrakov stressed.
Deputy Prime Minister reminded that the agreement also simplifies the procedure of recognition of driving documents: Ukraine and the EU have exempted holders of driving licenses issued by one of the parties from the requirement to have an international driving license.
At the end of 2022, 6 Ukrainian junior squash players are in the top 10 in their age categories.
In 2022, the Ukrainian sport, despite the war, not only survived, but also continued to develop. Our athletes in this difficult time continue to please us with decent results in the international arena. And if in such popular sports as soccer and boxing we managed to maintain the pre-war development potential, many lesser-known disciplines encountered significant difficulties last year. We can mention here the cancellation or postponement of competitions, as well as the disruption of the training process.
Squash, on the whole, successfully coped with the challenges of 2022, maintaining a positive momentum of development. In August, on the courts of the capital fitness center “SPORT LIFE” there was a charity tournament “Zenit Ukraine Open 2022”. Athletes from Romania, the United States, Moldova, Lithuania as well as players from many regions of Ukraine competed for awards in five categories.
The organizers of the largest squash tournament in Ukraine are planning to hold it this year as well.
“We hope that our Zenit tournament will return this year to the sunny Odessa from which it had to move to Kiev due to the military action,” said one of the organizers of this squash tournament, Maxim Urakin.
Very good results on the courts of international tournaments are shown by Ukrainian juniors. In particular, six Ukrainian athletes are in the top 10 in their age categories. Dmytro Scherbakov, who currently occupies the second position in the world ranking of young squash players BU19, was able to achieve the greatest result last year.
You can find more details about the positions of Ukrainian juniors in the world squash rankings in the infographic:
As Dmitry Shcherbakov, the head of racquet sports of the SportLife network, stated, in 2022 our juniors proved that they are one of the strongest in Europe.
“At the team championship of Europe-2022 among juniors to 17 years, our squash players got the bronze medal, leaving behind only England and France,” – Shcherbakov said.
Vyacheslav Savelov, children and juniors squash coach, thanked everyone who supported the sport in 2022.
“Many thanks to sponsors, patrons, coaches, parents of our children and all those who supported and supported Ukrainian squash and our athletes during this difficult time,” – he stressed.
The high results of our athletes in the youth and adult ratings give hope for the successful development of squash in Ukraine in 2023.
Ukraine’s foreign trade turnover in January-February 2023 totaled $16.6 billion, down 30% from the same period in 2022, the State Customs Service said. “In January-February this year, Ukraine imported goods worth $10.1 billion, exported goods worth $6.5 billion,” the State Customs Service said in a press release.
In January, the agency reported imports of $4.8 billion and exports of $3.1 billion. Thus, in February, imports rose to $5.1 billion and exports – to $3.4 billion, while the negative balance of trade remained at $1.7 billion.
As stated by the State Customs Service, taxable imports in January-February amounted to $8.1 billion, or 80% of total imports of goods.
According to published information, the tax burden per 1 kg of taxable imports was $0.44/kg, which is 53% higher than during the same period last year. Most of the goods were imported from China – $1.7 billion, Poland – $1 billion and Turkey – $760 million.
As noted, during the two months of 2023, the most goods were exported to Poland – $953 million, Romania – $609 million and China – $605 million.
According to press release, the main import categories were: machinery, equipment and transport – $2.9 billion, 17.6 billion UAH were paid to the budget, or 27% of customs duties, fuel and energy products – $2.6 billion, 16.2 billion UAH were paid, or 25%, chemical products – $1.7 billion, 11.5 billion UAH were paid, or 18%.
The top three most exported commodities from Ukraine were foodstuffs – $4.3 billion, metals and metal products – $568 million, machinery, equipment and transport – $521 million.
The State Customs Service summed up that during the customs clearance of exports of goods for which the export duty was set, the budget was paid 223.3 million UAH.
Britain is banning the use of the social network TikTok on government phones and electronic devices for security reasons, Duchy of Lancaster Chancellor and British Cabinet Secretary Oliver Dowden said Thursday.
“We are going to ban TikTok on government devices. We’re going to do that immediately,” Dowden said, speaking in the House of Commons.
“We’re moving to a system where government devices will only be able to access third-party apps on a pre-approved list. This system is already in place in many agencies, now it will become the rule for the entire government,” he added.
According to the minister, social networking apps, particularly TikTok, collect and store a large amount of information about users, including contacts, user content and geolocation information.
“On the government’s electronic devices, this information can be sensitive,” Dowden noted.
He stressed that there is a risk that apps could use government data.
Dowden said the government will impose “limited exceptions for the use of TikTok on government devices where it is required for operational reasons.”
He noted that the decision follows the U.S., Canada and the EU.
Late last year, the U.S. Congress approved a bill banning the use of the TikTok social network on federal government phones and electronic devices.
In February, the White House gave all federal agencies 30 days to remove TikTok from all government devices.
In turn, U.S. lawmakers plan to consider a bill that would allow the President of the United States to ban the application altogether.
A total of 13 U.S. states have already taken action against TikTok, which is owned by ByteDance, a company based in China.
According to U.S. authorities, the Chinese government could use the Chinese app to collect data from American users.
The European Commission is launching a new European Bauhaus capacity building program to assist municipalities in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Ukraine.
The European Commission said Thursday that the decision follows several events, including a meeting between Commission members and the Ukrainian government in Kiev on February 2, the EU-Ukraine summit on February 3, and the visit of European Commissioner Virginius Sinkevicius to Kiev on February 16-17.
“The program will be launched in the afternoon during a high-level meeting with Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius. The capacity building initiative aims to inspire and provide practical assistance to municipalities involved in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Ukraine,” the European Commission explained the essence of the initiative.
It is also reported that the program is organized by and with Ukrainian partners, such as Ro3kvit, ReThink, Covenant of Mayors East and the Council of Architects Europe. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and commissioners Maria Gabriel and Elisa Ferreira will take part in the event through a video address.
Commenting on the event, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “We will rebuild Ukraine. We must, and we will. The reconstruction that Ukraine deserves should be done in the spirit of the New European Bauhaus (NEB). Urban planners, architects, engineers are involved in the project, and the concept of the NEB will inspire them. Our vision is to turn the destruction of war into opportunities to build a beautiful and healthy future for Ukraine.
Changes in consolidated budget expenditures in 2021-2022 (%)
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
