The Verkhovna Rada at a session on Thursday supported the resignation of Interior Minister Arsen Avakov.
Some 291 MPs voted for the corresponding decision.
As reported, Avakov on Tuesday submitted a letter of resignation from office.
Avakov headed the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine since February 27, 2014. For the first time, he was appointed to a post in the government under Arseniy Yatsenyuk (2014-2016). Later, Avakov was a member of the governments under Volodymyr Groysman (2016-2019), Oleksiy Honcharuk (2019-2020) and Denys Shmyhal (2020-2021).
The government has approved the forecast of economic and social growth of Ukraine for the next three years, according to which GDP growth under the baseline scenario is expected at 3.8% in 2022, 4.7% in 2023 and 5% in 2024, the Ministry of Economy reported on the website.
Oxford Economics has improved its forecast for Ukraine’s real GDP growth in 2021 to 4.9%, up from 4% in the February forecast.
The decline in Ukraine’s GDP in January-April 2021 slowed down to 0.2%, according to an estimate by the Ministry of Economy.
The real gross domestic product of Ukraine in the first quarter of 2021 decreased 2.2%, the State Statistics Service reported the updated estimate on Tuesday, while in the middle of May the decline was tentatively assessed at 2%.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has improved its forecast for the economic growth in Ukraine in 2021 from 3% to 3.5%, according to its June forecast.
The negative balance of Ukraine’s foreign trade in goods in January-April 2021 increased by 47.3% compared to January-April 2020, to $ 1.299 billion from $ 882 million, the State Statistics Service has reported.
The negative balance of Ukraine’s foreign trade in goods in January-June 2021 decreased by 8.36%, to $1.25 billion with an increase in exports of almost 30.3%, to $29.97 billion, imports – by 28.4%, to $31.22 billion, according to data from the State Customs Service.
The growth of consumer prices in Ukraine in May 2021 in annual terms accelerated to 9.5% from 8.4% in April.
The state budget in May 2021 had a deficit of UAH 4.6 billion, while the state budget deficit in January-May 2021 amounted to UAH 33.7 billion, according to data from the State Treasury Service of Ukraine.
The total public debt of Ukraine in May 2021 grew by 0.21% in U.S. dollars, to $91.52 billion and decreased by 0.69% in hryvnias, to UAH 2.516 trillion, according to data on the website of the Ministry of Finance, published in Friday.
Industrial production in Ukraine in May 2021 increased by 5.4% compared to May 2020, while in April the growth was 13%, in March – 2.1%, and in February and January there was a decline, respectively by 4.6% and 4%, the State Statistics Service has said.
Prices in the Ukrainian industry in May 2021 increased by 3.6%, while in April – by 1.2%, in March – by 1.6%, in February – by 7.8%, in January – by 5.2%, the State Statistics Service has said.
Ukraine completed the 2020/2021 marketing year (MY, July-June), having exported 48.8 million tonnes of grains and oilseeds, which is 17% less than the volumes predicted a year ago, the Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA) reported on the website.
Prices for construction and assembly work in Ukraine in May 2021 increased by 16.8% compared to May 2020, the State Statistics Service has reported.
The retail trade turnover of Ukraine in May 2021 grew by 22.7% compared to the same month in 2020 in comparable prices, while in April this figure was 34.3%, the State Statistics Service said on Tuesday.
Publisher of “Open4Business”, PhD in Economics, Maksim Urakin
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) plans to gradually abolish the requirement for legal entities and individuals-entrepreneurs to purchase foreign currency only against obligations, in particular, from July 20, it will allow businesses to buy foreign currency within EUR 100,000 (in equivalent) per day without the presence of grounds and obligations and the submission of supporting documents to the bank.
According to the NBU press service on Thursday, the relevant changes were approved by regulator’s board decision No. 80 dated July 13.
“We have decided to cancel this requirement gradually. This will allow us to assess the impact of each such step on liberalization on the state of the market,” the NBU press service said, citing Deputy Governor of the NBU Yuriy Heletiy said.
According to the National Bank, the current easing will not have a significant impact on the functioning of the Ukrainian foreign exchange market, but it will expand the business opportunities for risk and liquidity management.
It is indicated that the next steps towards the complete removal of the requirement for the purchase of foreign exchange against obligations will be carried out after analyzing the situation in the domestic and foreign markets, the state of financial stability, and also subject to a favorable situation in the foreign exchange market.
Ukraine will be able to use loans from international financial organizations attracted by the government to improve energy efficiency through high quality projects, Ima Khrenova-Shimkina, the director of the project on promoting energy efficiency and implementing the EU energy efficiency directive in Ukraine, has said.
“Ukraine has already attracted loans, pays interest on them, has concluded all the necessary international agreements, and our government has fulfilled all its obligations. Projects from cities and regions must now be submitted in order to pour these funds into the Ukrainian economy. But this, unfortunately, is not happening because we do not have enough specialists and well-prepared projects,” she told the Interfax-Ukraine agency during the IV International Coal Conference at DTEK Academy in Kyiv.
At the same time, she pointed out that the funds raised can be used if projects appear that meet all the necessary criteria.
At the same time, the expert expressed hope that this will be facilitated by, in particular, the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development and the State Agency on Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving of Ukraine.
As reported, in October of this year, the state energy efficiency agency and the Ministry of Energy signed a memorandum with the German society for international cooperation GIZ, aimed at developing the field of energy efficiency in Ukraine.
Support from the German government and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of Switzerland is provided to the Ukrainian side within the framework of a new international technical assistance project for promoting energy efficiency and implementing the EU energy efficiency directive in Ukraine, which is being implemented by GIZ. The project is planned to be completed within five years.
Over the past three years, NEFCO (Nordic Environment Finance Corporation, NEFCO) canceled energy efficiency projects in 18 Ukrainian cities due to bureaucratic obstacles, which is approximately 20% of the organization’s investments, and losses from unrealized projects are estimated at about EUR 35 million.
On July 15-18, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland Marcin Przydacz will pay a visit to Ukraine. Meetings with Deputy Minister Vasyl Bodnar at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Sybiha are scheduled. In addition, a meeting with the leadership of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission and acquaintance with the security situation in the frontline zone in Luhansk region, as well as a meeting with local Poles are planned. In the second part of the visit, Deputy Minister Marcin Przydacz will take part in the pilgrimage celebrations in Berdychiv, which will also be attended by the Secretary of State, Government Commissioner for the Polish Diaspora and Poles Abroad, Mr. Jan Dziedziczak, Secretary of State Ministry of Culture and National Heritage Jarosław Sellin.
The adoption by the Verkhovna Rada of the law, which provides for the reboot of the High Council of Justice (HCJ), will launch a real judicial reform in Ukraine, according to a statement posted on the website of the President’s Office on Wednesday.
According to the statement, relevant bill No. 5068, which was initiated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, provides for steps to ensure the independence of the judicial branch of government, namely the reboot of the HCJ, which is responsible for the selection and dismissal of judges. In the implementation of the judicial reform in Ukraine, the recommendations of Venice Commission’s experts, who provided their opinion on the draft law, were taken into account.
“This is without exaggeration a historic event for Ukraine. During the entire period of independence of our state, no government has carried out a real judicial reform giving nothing but promises. My goal is to restore trust and respect for the court. The servants of Themis will cease to be servants of the President, government, parliament or local authorities,” the President said.
Zelensky said that justice is one of the basic values of Ukrainians, but it cannot be ensured without an independent judiciary. In addition, domestic and foreign investors need a fair trial. The vote for the reform of the High Council of Justice laid the necessary foundation for effective changes in the judiciary.
