The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) together with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) will finance a program of support for bioenergy development worth over $50 million, Lesya Kuzmenko, the EBRD Deputy Head in Ukraine, has said.
“The program is aimed at technologies and systems for collection, storage and processing of agrobiomass. We plan to mobilize about $50 million for its implementation,” she said at the official opening of the program “Sustainable Bioenergy Value Chain Innovation” in Ukraine.
The leading engineer of the EBRD in Ukraine, Tetiana Markuta, clarified that the total amount of the four-year program is $55.8 million, and it is planned to launch it from the fourth quarter of 2019. According to her, the Global Environment Facility provides grant support under the program.
Most of these funds – $50 million – will be issued for lending to bioenergy projects in the private sector, and another $3.5 million for incentive grants, she said. The remaining funds are to be used for information support and educational projects in the field of bioenergy.
“We will look at options for possible stimulation of the development of bioenergy within the framework of the program and choose two or three areas that will be most beneficial for Ukraine,” she added.
She noted that the support is designed for companies in the field of agriculture and logistics, companies that can work with waste, as well as those that produce and process biomass.
Official rates of banking metals from national bank as of November 21
One troy ounce=31.10 grams
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has implemented some measures to digitalize red tape procedures and circulation of documents, according to a posting on the website of the government. “Online, it will also be possible to recover lost or stolen driver’s licenses using the online procedure. Soon they can be ordered through the driver’s electronic account or through the unified public administrative services portal. The new rules so far relate to the licenses issued after January 1, 2013,” the government said.
In particular, the Cabinet of Ministers approved a bill that will simplify the receipt of free legal assistance for low-income citizens. It would be possible to apply without a certificate of income. Getting this help takes a lot of time and will require a lot of effort from people. The bill will soon be submitted to the Verkhovna Rada.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine introduced the compensation of postal costs in court cases for low-income citizens by its decision.
“It allows lawyers to reimburse postal expenses in cases where they provide free legal assistance to low-income and socially unprotected groups of the population. In particular, the state will reimburse the cost of sending registered letters in appeal proceedings that were previously paid by citizens themselves. This will improve the quality of assistance to people who cannot pay for it,” the government said.
National bank of Ukraine’s official rates as of 21/11/19
Source: National Bank of Ukraine
Soon a separate department which will regulate and protect intellectual property will be created in the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture, Deputy Minister Dmytro Romanovych has said.
During a speech at the Media Law conference on Tuesday, he said that the issue of protecting intellectual property is one of eight priorities that the minister identified as promising.
“This is one of our priorities. We have eight of them. You also know that in fact we are now representing two and a half ministries. Therefore, there are a lot of priorities, as well as the areas for which the Economy Ministry is responsible. Being among our eight priorities is a sign that that the field of intellectual property is a very important industry,” Romanovych said.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has amended the Action Plan on Implementation of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU, the press service of the Ukrainian government reported. “The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted a resolution amending the Action Plan on Implementation of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU. The updated plan takes into account the deepening of the Ukraine-EU bilateral relations and a series of decisions adopted by the bilateral bodies of the Association Agreement in recent years,” reads the statement.
The amended document actualizes, aligns and streamlines the objectives with the dynamically evolving EU legislation. The updated tasks are related to customs and financial policy; taxation, entrepreneurship, financial services and competition; justice, social and humanitarian issues; transport; energy economy and energy efficiency; digital sphere, science, technology and innovation; nature management and others.
It is expected that the government’s decision will accelerate Ukraine’s advancement towards the EU and make this process more transparent.
