Ukraine is planning to complete a large-scale reconstruction of the international road border crossing point (IRCP) Yahodyn (on the border with Poland) by 2028. According to the Operational Plan of the Border Infrastructure Development Strategy with EU countries and the Republic of Moldova until 2030, posted on the website of the Cabinet of Ministers, it is planned to build a terminal, a bridge crossing over the Western Bug River, parking lots for trucks, reconstruction of access roads.
It is planned to allocate UAH 400 million – half of the necessary amount of UAH 850 million – for the construction of the terminal at PP already in 2025. The remaining 450 million UAH will be financed in 2026, including at the expense of international technical assistance.
In addition, “reconstruction of the existing section” is envisioned, for which UAH 5 million of the required UAH 868 million has been allocated in 2024. In 2025 it is planned to allocate UAH 65 million, in 2026 – UAH 400 million and the same amount in 2027. The works will be financed from the state budget and international technical assistance.
At IACP “Yahodyn” in 2025 will be introduced a video monitoring system “Traffic Management System”, for which 150 million UAH will be allocated at the expense of international technical assistance. In addition, the purchase of a scanning system of mobile type with portal scanning function will be completed by the end of 2025. For this purpose 55.4 million UAH will be allocated at the expense of the loan of the Republic of Poland. The first tranche – 55.4 million UAH for the purchase of the system was allocated in 2024.
The project of reconstruction of IACP “Yagodin” provides for the construction of a new bridge crossing over the river Western Bug – 1.5 billion UAH. For the realization of this project it is planned to allocate UAH 20 million in 2025, UAH 500 million in 2026, UAH 500 million in 2027 and UAH 480 million in 2028, including at the expense of international technical assistance.
In addition, it is envisaged to overhaul the public highway of state importance M-07 and the approaches to the auto terminals of Yagodyn No. 2 and Yagodyn No. 3. In 2025, UAH 236.09 million out of the required UAH 236.66 million will be allocated for the implementation of this project, including at the expense of EU technical assistance, in particular, the CEF project (covers 50% of project needs – IF-U). In 2024, UAH 0.56 mln was allocated for the project implementation.
Among other things, the construction of new parking lots for trucks is envisaged, for which UAH 179.8 million will be allocated in 2025 and UAH 227.9 million in 2026, including at the expense of CEF mechanisms. In 2024, UAH 3.74 million out of the required UAH 411.16 million has been allocated for the project implementation.
Reconstruction and overhaul of the M-07 Kyiv-Kovel-Yagodin highway with a length of 69.9 km is envisaged. In 2026 it is planned to allocate UAH 2.5 million, in 2027 – UAH 4.5 million and another UAH 4.5 million in 2028 out of UAH 11.5 million required for the realization of this project. Funding will be provided from the state budget.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that he is stepping down as leader of the ruling Liberal Party, but will remain as head of government until the Liberals elect a new leader, Reuters reports, citing Trudeau’s speech.
“I intend to resign as party leader. And as prime minister after the party selects its next leader through a rigorous, nationally competitive process,” he said on Monday.
His decision to resign was preceded by a drop in the party’s popularity and open conflicts with other leading Liberals. He said he would remain as prime minister until a new Liberal Party leader is elected.
Trudeau has been heading the government since 2015. However, his popularity has plummeted due to record inflation, rising food prices, and an acute housing crisis. Recent polls have shown that the ruling Liberal Party has an approval rating of 16%, the worst in more than 100 years. The opposition Conservatives, on the other hand, have come out on top in electoral preferences.
Earlier it became known that Trudeau would announce his intention to resign on Monday, January 6. This was reported by the Toronto Star newspaper, citing a high-ranking source. A month ago, US President-elect Donald Trump ridiculed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whom he called the “governor” of the non-existent state of Canada.
He wrote about this on his social network Truth Social.
Trump commented on the meeting with Trudeau at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, noting that he had the pleasure of having dinner with “Governor of the Great State of Canada, Justin Trudeau, the other day.”
“I look forward to meeting with the Governor again so we can continue our in-depth tariff and trade negotiations, the results of which will be truly spectacular for everyone!” Trump added.
Spain has a multi-level taxation system that includes state, regional and municipal taxes. Let us consider the main taxes in force in the country at the end of 2024 – beginning of 2025.
Let’s start with taxes for individuals:
Income tax (IRPF ) – a progressive scale of rates is applied, consisting of federal and regional parts. The federal (central) part of the rates includes:
Regional authorities set additional rates, which may vary depending on the autonomous community.
Thecapital gains tax is variable, and gains from the sale of real estate and other assets are taxed at the following rates:
Real estate tax (IBI): An annual tax whose rate varies from 0.4% to 1.1% of the cadastral value of the property, depending on the municipality.
Wealth tax: Applies to individuals with net assets above a certain threshold, with progressive rates ranging from 0.2% to 3.5%, depending on the region.
Taxes for legal entities:
Corporate income tax (Impuesto sobre Sociedades): The standard rate is 25%. For small businesses with a turnover of less than €1 million, there is a reduced rate of 23%. New companies can apply the 15% rate for the first two years of profitable activity.
Value added tax (IVA):
Other taxes and duties:
Inheritance and gift tax: Progressive rates from 7.65% to 34% apply, but rates and exemptions may vary significantly from community to community.
Property Transfer Tax (ITP): Charged on the purchase of second-hand real estate, the rate is usually around 6-10% of the value of the property, depending on the region.
Social contributions: Employers and employees are required to make social security contributions. The general rate for the employer is about 29.9% of the employee’s salary, and for the employee – about 6.35%.
The Spanish tax system is characterized by progressive and diverse taxes, which requires careful planning when doing business or living in the country. It is recommended to consult with professional tax advisors to ensure compliance with current legal requirements and optimize the tax burden.
http://relocation.com.ua/osoblyvosti-systemy-opodatkuvannia-v-ispanii/
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has signed an agreement with Ukraine’s OTP Bank (Kyiv), approved in early December, to cover up to 50% of the credit risk on the bank’s new EUR200 million loans, the EBRD said in a statement on Monday.
“This is the fifth and largest such loan agreement provided by the EBRD to OTP, building on the successful cooperation between the two institutions to date,” the release said.
It is specified that this will enable the bank to finance critical sectors such as agriculture, energy, manufacturing, and transportation.
The EBRD’s participation in the project, estimated at EUR 60 million, will be supported by first-loss risk coverage funded by donors, including the European Union (EU), under the UIF Ukraine Facility.
It is also noted that, taking into account this project, the total amount of financing under similar EBRD guarantees signed since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine is almost EUR 2 billion.
Up to 20% of the project’s risk-sharing loans will be used to support long-term investments by private micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in EU-compliant and green technologies that increase their competitiveness in domestic and foreign markets. Upon completion of the investment projects, these sub-borrowers will receive EU-funded investment grants under the EU4Business initiative, as well as technical assistance. The EBRD has already allocated EUR 66 million in grant support for Ukrainian MSMEs under the EBRD-EU4Business credit line, including EUR 5 million for projects through the TFP.
According to the bank’s website, the guarantees are planned to be provided in three tranches: two in the amount of EUR 22.5 million, each covering EUR 75 million, and one in the amount of EUR 15 million to cover EUR 50 million of the loan portfolio.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), as of November 1, 2024, OTP Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Hungarian OTP Bank, ranked 11th (UAH 116.9 billion) in terms of total assets among 62 banks in the country. The financial institution’s net profit for 10 months of last year amounted to UAH 4.82 billion.
Since Russia’s invasion in 2022, the EBRD has lent more than EUR 5.4 billion to Ukraine, including more than EUR 1.6 billion last year.
Metinvest Group’s KAMETSTAL, a steelmaking plant at Dnipro Metallurgical Plant (DMK, Kamenskoye, Dnipro Oblast), has completed a 50-day overhaul of its main air separation unit (ASU).
According to the company, on New Year’s Eve, the plant’s power engineers resumed operation of the air handling unit, and the overhaul of the AKAR-40/35 was one of the largest overhauls performed at the plant under the 2024 program.
It was specified that after completion of the scheduled repair work, specialists began preparatory pre-start-up operations in mid-December. High-temperature regeneration of the adsorbent was performed after its complete replacement. As part of the overhaul, 68 tons of zeolite and 33.6 tons of aluminum oxide, highly dispersed materials for air purification from moisture and carbon dioxide, which negatively affect the performance and quality of air distribution, were loaded into the cleaned and repaired adsorbers.
On December 26, the first post-repair oxygen was supplied to the collector after completion of the preparatory stages required by the technology – heating of the unit and cooling of the vessels and apparatus of the plant. The passport characteristics of the AKar-40/35 were restored and it started operating, after which the power engineers gradually put the AKar-30 units into reserve, which replaced the main unit during its overhaul. Tests conducted on December 28 confirmed the unit’s nameplate capacity of 40 thousand cubic meters per hour of nitrogen and 35 thousand cubic meters per hour of oxygen.
“The unit is now operating in the set mode, steadily supplying air separation products to the steelmaking process. The unit’s load varies according to the needs of the production process. Thanks to the well-established cooperation between the OCC specialists and their colleagues from the blast furnace and converter shops, we determine the optimal production mode on a daily basis without unproductive losses of oxygen produced, which makes it possible to increase the efficiency of the repaired unit and the shop as a whole,” explained Vyacheslav Grevtsev, head of the oxygen compressor shop, as quoted in the statement.
“KAMETSTAL was established on the basis of Dnipro Coke Plant and Centralized Steel Works of Dnipro Metallurgical Plant.
According to the 2020 report of Metinvest Group’s parent company, Metinvest B.V. (Netherlands) owned 100% of the shares in DCCP.
Farmak Pharmaceutical Company (JSC Farmak, Kyiv) has started exporting to Pakistan, the first product supplied is an injectable drug for general anesthesia, which is also registered in the UK.
According to the company’s press release, Pakistan became the second country in South Asia after Jordan to which Farmak supplies its products. Farmak’s presence in the region is ensured by the Farmak International Middle East & Africa team.
In general, Farmak exports its products to more than 60 countries, including 15 EU countries, as well as countries of Central and South America, the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Australia.
As reported, in 2023, Farmak increased its net profit by 18% compared to 2022, to UAH 1.557 billion.
Farmak Group is the leader of the Ukrainian pharmaceutical market in monetary terms, has two production sites in Ukraine and a production site in Spain, as well as 11 international representative offices and marketing and distribution companies in countries such as Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Moldova. The ultimate beneficial owner of Farmak is the Chairman of the Supervisory Board Filya Zhebrovska (80% of the company’s shares).
