The statistics on COVID-19 incidence gives no reason to hope that Ukraine will remain in the green zone for the European Union, Head of the Parliament Committee on Public Health, Medical Assistance and Medical Insurance Mykhailo Radutsky says.
“Ukraine is already in the red zone for the United States and Switzerland. The EU has given a delay of one week, most likely the EU will place us in the red zone. Unfortunately, statistics does not give us hope that we will remain in the green zone,” he said on the sidelines of Savik Shuster’s Freedom of Speech (Svoboda Slova) talk show on Friday night.
“We will wait for the next meeting of the European Commission,” Radutsky said.
Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, hopes that Ukraine will receive the second tranche of macro-financial assistance from the European Union in the amount of EUR 600 million in late October – early November.
“I can confirm for sure that already this month, or at the very beginning of November, we will receive the second tranche in the amount of EUR 600 million,” Stefanishyna told reporters in Kyiv on Thursday.
Some countries of the European Union may temporarily restrict entry for citizens of Ukraine due to the increase in the incidence of coronavirus (COVID-19) and the exclusion of our country from the so-called “green zone,” but at the moment such a decision has not yet been made, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleh Nikolenko has said.
“The European Union has not yet made a formal decision. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has previously reported that in the event of an increase in the incidence of COVID-19 in Ukraine, the EU may adopt a recommendation to exclude our state from the list of countries whose citizens can make non-essential trips to the European Union. Brussels reviews the list of countries every two weeks and adjusts it depending on the development of the epidemic situation,” he said on Facebook.
The Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the epidemic situation is worsening not only in Ukraine and in recent weeks the EU has already significantly reduced the list of countries in the “green zone,” and some EU countries have already started to strengthen quarantine measures for their citizens.
“It is important to understand that […] if a decision is made, the EU does not automatically establish new rules for crossing the border, but only provides recommendations to the EU member states. […] Up-to-date information on the conditions of entry of Ukrainian citizens to each individual country of the EU and other countries of the world is available on the interactive map of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine: https://tripadvisor.mfa.gov.ua. It is updated in real time,” Nikolenko said.
He said that one should not expect a complete closure of borders, as last year, and vaccination in the future will remain one of the key conditions for unhindered entry into most countries.
The Foreign Ministry spokesperson also said that if the EU decides to exclude Ukraine from the green zone, it does not cancel the visa-free travel, but only introduces temporary restrictions on tourist trips to counter the spread of COVID-19 infection. “The decision can also be later revised at the next update of the list in case the epidemic situation improves,” the representative of the foreign ministry said.
According to Nikolenko, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the embassies are actively working with foreign partners so that even in the difficult conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the circle of countries open to travel for Ukrainian citizens remains as wide as possible and further expands.
The joint statement following the 23rd Ukraine-EU Summit recognizes the importance of further strengthening cooperation in countering hybrid threats and tackling disinformation.
According to the text of the statement published on the website of the President’s Office of Ukraine, the EU will continue to support Ukraine’s resilience, including through the strengthening of independent media and the regulatory environment, as well as sharing best practices on media freedom and literacy, strategic communications and supporting Ukrainian initiatives to tackle disinformation.
“We underlined the important role played by civil society, youth and independent media in all areas of public and political life, also in the context of disinformation campaigns against the EU and Ukraine, including notably by Russia,” the officials said in the joint statement.
The holding of the first cyber dialogue between Ukraine and the EU on June 3, 2021 is also encouraged, and the next round is expected in the second quarter of 2022.
“We emphasized the importance of deepening inter-institutional cooperation on cybersecurity,” according to the statement.
In the key areas in which trade between Ukraine and the EU takes place, the country meets 70-80% European standards, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna said in an interview with the online edition of Radio Liberty on Saturday.
“In the five main areas in which trade takes place, we meet European standards by 70-80%. This has already been confirmed. Energy sector – 80%. Food and sanitary measures – more than 70%. We fully comply with the system of public procurement and telecommunications. This is means that in the understanding of our European integration, we [Ukraine and the EU] work in the same way and live the same,” Stefanishyna said.
She also said that more than 14,000 Ukrainian companies are already operating in the European market.
Ukraine is also the country that is integrated into European structures. The country is a member of more than 20 EU agencies and institutions from law enforcement (this is the European Public Prosecutor’s Office), ending with scientific and cultural programs.
Therefore, according to Stefanishyna, from the point of view of political, economic convergence, Ukraine has actually achieved tremendous results in five years.
Adoption of the law on the timber market, allowing the export of unprocessed timber and sawn timber from Ukraine, is forecasted until the end of this year, its entry into force does not pose significant threats to the country’s forest resources and related businesses, Head of the State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine Yuriy Bolokhovets has said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
“I predict that the law on the timber market will be adopted by the end of the year. I do not see any major threats either from the point of view of preserving the forest fund, or from the point of view of protecting and supporting Ukrainian business. We are already working at European prices, there are precedents for the import of raw materials from the EU countries. Therefore, we do not expect rush demand from exporters or foreign players,” the head of the agency said.
According to him, the Ukrainian timber market was interesting for foreign players, while significant volumes of cheap illegally logged timber were present there, but those times have already passed.
Bolokhovets also said that due to the possible lifting of the moratorium on the export of unprocessed timber, Ukrainian processors should think about developing their business and strengthening competitiveness.
“Today, the majority is engaged in trivial sawing of timber. It is necessary to deepen processing, increase the added value of products,” the head of the State Forest Resources Agency said.
