The National Commission for the State Regulation of Electronic Communications, Radio Spectrum, and Postal Services (NCC) is proposing to introduce a regulatory levy of no more than 1.5% of telecom operators’ total revenue.
“This funding model will reduce expenditures in Ukraine’s state budget and cover the NCC’s funding needs, which will amount to UAH 401.1 million in 2027,” the regulator noted in an explanatory memorandum to the draft law it developed.
According to NCC data for 2025, 508 business entities would be required to pay the relevant fees. It is expected that the number of such entities will increase to 580 in 2027 and to 696 in 2028.
The NERC clarified that the financial and economic projections for 2027 and 2028 include the implementation of EU Regulation 2024/1309 (Gigabit Infrastructure Act/GIA). Among other things, it provides for the creation of a tool for consumers—a comparison of provider prices—and the implementation of a universal service—access to communications for all, even in the most remote regions—as well as the construction and restoration of digital infrastructure in de-occupied and border territories.
The state regulator noted that in most European Union countries, national regulatory bodies in the field of electronic communications are funded through contributions from providers of electronic communications networks and services.
At the same time, the Internet Association of Ukraine (InAU) spoke out against this bill on Facebook.
“Its provisions are not only unfair and discriminatory but also do not align with the norms of the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC), and in a number of provisions, they directly contradict it. To substantiate this, we note the following,” the statement to the regulator reads.
The association hopes that the regulator will take this position into account; if the relevant comments are ignored, InaU will appeal to state and European institutions.
French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin has proposed imposing a temporary three-year moratorium on legal immigration, stating that the country has reached the limits of its capacity to integrate and assimilate newcomers.
According to Le Parisien, citing Darmanin’s interview with the Journal du Dimanche, the minister believes it is necessary to “put an end to immigration as it exists today.” He proposes suspending legal immigration for three years and reforming the Constitution to introduce binding, rather than merely advisory, quotas on the entry of foreigners.
Darmainin had previously advocated for a temporary suspension of regular immigration for two to three years. This would apply to labor migration and family reunification, though exceptions could be maintained for doctors, researchers, and certain categories of students. Following the moratorium, the minister proposed transitioning to a system of immigration quotas, the volume of which would be determined after consultation with citizens.
Darmann’s proposal has not yet been adopted as state policy. Its implementation would require a political decision, a legislative process, and, according to the minister himself, a constitutional amendment. However, the initiative signals an intensification of the migration debate in France ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Potential restrictions could affect several key channels of legal entry: labor migration, certain student programs, and family reunification. At the same time, France faces a shortage of foreign workers in medicine, science, certain service sectors, and professions with labor shortages, making a potential moratorium politically and economically contentious.
The issue of migration remains a central one in French domestic politics. According to Le Monde, in 2025 the country issued over 380,000 initial residence permits to citizens of non-EU countries, an 11% increase from the previous year. About half of the new permits were issued to students and for humanitarian reasons: international students received about 118,000 permits, humanitarian categories—about 92,000, family migration accounted for about 91,000, while professional immigration fell by nearly 13%—to approximately 51,000 permits.
Historically, the overall structure of immigration to France has been dominated by people from North Africa and Southern Europe. According to data cited by The Connexion based on INSEE, among immigrants by country of birth, the largest groups are those from Algeria—12.4%, Morocco—11.7%, Portugal—7.3%, Tunisia (4.9%), Italy (3.6%), Turkey (3.4%), and Spain (3.1%). These seven countries account for 46.4% of all immigrants in France.
Ukrainians occupy a distinct place in France’s current migration landscape as recipients of temporary protection following the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. According to Eurostat, as of the end of March 2026, 4.33 million Ukrainian citizens and residents were granted temporary protection in EU countries. The largest countries hosting refugees were Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic. Eurostat’s country-specific tables for France as of March 2026 indicate approximately 70,700 people under temporary protection.
For France, a potential moratorium would mark one of the most drastic shifts in migration policy in recent years. For businesses, it could mean more difficult access to foreign labor; for universities, the risk of a reduction in international enrollment; and for family-based immigration programs, additional uncertainty. At the same time, Ukrainians under temporary protection are governed by a separate European regime that operates within the framework of EU decisions and is not considered ordinary labor or family-based immigration.
According to Serbian Economist, a treasure trove dating back approximately 3,000 years has been discovered in the Romanian county of Prahova; archaeologists describe it as one of the most significant finds of recent decades for studying the transition from the Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age in modern-day Romania.
According to News.ro, the hoard was found by a man using a metal detector on a hill near the town of Urlați in Prahova County. The find includes three gold necklaces weighing a total of over 300 grams, as well as iron and bronze objects.
After the discovery, the artifacts were handed over to specialists at the Prahova Museum of Archaeology for study, dating, and determination of the materials’ origin. Archaeologist Alin Frânculeascu stated that the find is exceptional for Romania, as the objects, according to preliminary assessments, may date to different periods—from the Middle and Late Bronze Ages to the early Iron Age.
This is precisely what makes the find particularly significant. If further research confirms that the objects do indeed belong to different time periods, archaeologists will have to explain how they came to be together in a single site. This could lead to a refinement of existing understandings of the chronology, technologies, and connections among societies that inhabited the territory of present-day Romania some three thousand years ago.
Some of the objects are considered extremely rare. Among them are items associated with chariots or carts, as well as gold jewelry that may have had not only decorative but also status-symbol or ritual significance.
Once the research is complete, the hoard is scheduled to be presented to the general public.
According to Fixygen, the cryptocurrency market is ending the week in a mode of cautious consolidation: Bitcoin is holding near $76,000, Ethereum is around $2,100, and investors are assessing outflows from spot ETFs, macroeconomic risks, and the prospects for digital asset regulation in the U.S.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading around $76,300, and Ethereum around $2,087. Daily price action remained moderately positive following a dip earlier in the week, though the market has yet to return to sustained growth.
Outflows from cryptocurrency ETFs put pressure on the market throughout the week. According to industry reports, spot BTC ETFs in the U.S. recorded significant net outflows, and Ethereum ETFs were also under pressure. Amber Group noted that ETF flows for BTC and ETH shifted to outflows, reflecting more cautious investor sentiment.
WSJ Market Talk painted a similar picture: nearly $1.7 billion flowed out of Bitcoin ETFs over five days, while long-term Bitcoin holders did not exhibit significant selling pressure. Ethereum, according to this review, remained noticeably below its May peak amid sustained outflows from ETH ETFs.
At the start of the week, Bitcoin fell to a more than two-week low, dropping to around $76,000 amid a stock market pullback and rising yields. MarketWatch noted that on May 18, BTC lost about 2.5%, and the intraday low was the lowest since late April.
However, the market partially recovered by the end of the week. The Economic Times attributed Bitcoin’s rebound to $78,000 to improved sentiment following Nvidia’s strong earnings report and stabilizing buyer demand. However, BTC has not yet managed to hold above this level.
According to CoinGecko, the total market capitalization of the crypto market is approximately $2.64 trillion, with Bitcoin’s market cap at around $1.54 trillion and its market share at approximately 58.1%. This indicates that the market remains in a phase of BTC dominance, and a full-scale rotation of capital into altcoins has not yet occurred.
CoinMarketCap also indicates “Bitcoin Season” mode: the altseason index stands at around 37 out of 100, confirming Bitcoin’s dominance over most altcoins. Among the largest coins, BTC, ETH, BNB, Solana, and XRP were rising at the time, though the momentum remained more corrective than impulsive.
For the coming week, the $75,000–$78,000 range remains the key technical benchmark for Bitcoin. Holding above $75,000 could maintain a sideways consolidation scenario with attempts to return to $78,000–$80,000. A break below this level would increase the risk of a move toward lower support levels. For Ethereum, the $2,000–$2,150 range remains important: the weakness of the ETH-ETF and the lack of strong rotation into altcoins limit the potential for a rapid recovery.
The medium-term outlook remains ambiguous. On the one hand, the market is supported by institutional interest, limited BTC supply, and Bitcoin’s unchanged role as the leading crypto asset. On the other hand, outflows from ETFs, uncertainty regarding Fed rates, high correlation with tech stocks, and the weakness of altcoins make the market vulnerable to new corrections.
For Ukrainian companies entering international markets, attracting investors, working with foreign corporations or participating in tenders, it is important to establish a transparent and verified business profile in advance. One of the tools for such international verification is the D-U-N-S Number, assigned by the American company Dun & Bradstreet.
A D-U-N-S Number is a unique nine-digit business identifier used to identify legal entities and their individual locations in international commercial databases. This number enables foreign partners, banks, investors, procurement platforms and large corporations to identify a company more quickly and verify its basic information.
“For Ukrainian companies, the D-U-N-S Number is not just a formal number in an international database. It is a way to make themselves more transparent to a foreign bank, buyer, investor, distributor or technology platform. In the context of war and the restructuring of export routes, trust in a company often begins even before the first meeting – with a check of its business profile,” noted Maksym Urakin, Director of Development and Marketing at Interfax-Ukraine, Head of the D&B-Interfax-Ukraine business unit, and Candidate of Economic Sciences.
For Ukrainian businesses, such an identifier can be useful in several practical situations: when registering on international platforms, working with large corporate clients, participating in tenders, raising finance, establishing partnerships, vetting counterparties and confirming business reputation.
“Ukrainian exporters are increasingly finding that foreign partners want to see not just a website, presentation or commercial proposal, but also verified information about the company: who it is, where it is registered, what it does, and how reliable it is as a counterparty. The D-U-N-S Number helps integrate a Ukrainian company into the global business identification system,” Urakin emphasised.
According to him, this is particularly important for small and medium-sized businesses seeking to enter the markets of the EU, the US, the Middle East or Asia, but which do not yet have a long-standing international track record.
“Many Ukrainian companies produce high-quality products but remain insufficiently visible to global partners. Having a correct profile in the international D&B database can be one of the steps towards building trust. This does not replace financial reporting, quality certificates or contractual discipline, but it enhances the company’s business transparency,” added Urakin.
The D-U-N-S Number is also important in the context of Ukraine’s recovery. A large number of future projects will involve international donors, contractors, suppliers, engineering firms and financial institutions. For such projects, it is critical to verify the origin of companies, the resilience of supply chains, the absence of sanctions risks and the transparency of business structures.
“Ukraine’s recovery will require not only money and technology, but also trust. International partners need to understand who they are working with. Therefore, a culture of business verification, counterparty checks and transparent company profiles must become the norm for the Ukrainian market,” believes Urakin.
Dun & Bradstreet is an American company specialising in business data, analytics, commercial information and risk management, founded in 1841. The company provides international tools for business identification, counterparty verification, credit and commercial risk assessment, compliance and working with global supply chains. D&B maintains a global business data database and works with companies, financial institutions, government bodies and international organisations.
‘Interfax-Ukraine’ is an independent Ukrainian news agency that has been operating in the Ukrainian political and economic news market since 1992 and has a reputation as a reliable and competent provider of timely and objective information. The editorial office and the agency’s head office are located in Kyiv. Interfax-Ukraine is not part of any foreign media holding company.
Wheat prices in Ukraine have hit a new seasonal high of 10,500 UAH per tonne, whilst demand for grain remains strong. The market is being supported by limited supply from farmers and steady buyer interest.
According to the Experts Club information and analysis centre, the current price of wheat stands at around 10,500 UAH per tonne, which is 8–10% higher than last year’s level. Producers who had previously held off on selling in anticipation of a more favourable price now find themselves in a stronger negotiating position.
The main driver of growth remains strong demand coupled with restrained sales from farmers. Some farmers are in no hurry to bring grain to market, awaiting further price rises or greater clarity regarding the new harvest.
The condition of crops and harvest expectations provide additional support for prices. Despite the cold spring and delayed sowing, the forecast for Ukraine’s 2026 grain harvest remains at around 60.4 million tonnes, including 22.4 million tonnes of wheat.
For Ukrainian farmers, the rise in prices partially offsets the increase in production costs, logistics, fuel, storage and financial expenses. However, for processors and exporters, expensive wheat means fiercer competition for raw materials and lower margins.
The situation on the international market remains mixed. On the one hand, global import demand for wheat is growing: the USDA forecast indicated that global imports could rise to 218.3 million tonnes. On the other hand, fluctuations in global prices are limiting the potential for further growth in Ukrainian prices.
