The European Commission awaits a final decision on the dispute between Ukraine and the EU on a temporary ban on export of round timber until the end of this year, as follows from the EU’s annual Association Implementation Report.
“Recent draft legal proposals which would introduce local content requirements in public procurement procedures are a cause of concern as they breach the equal treatment and non-discrimination principles of public procurement under the AA, the WTO and the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement,” the report says.
“Regarding trade defense activities, the recent proliferation of safeguard investigations launched by Ukraine have not always been carried out in strict adherence with criteria and standards,” according to the document.
“Following many years of uninterrupted growth favored by the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) established by the AA, bilateral trade in the first eight months of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019 decreased by around 11% as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The EU remains by far Ukraine’s biggest trading partner. Regarding Ukraine’s wood export ban, a longstanding bilateral trade-irritant, a bilateral arbitration panel under the AA has been established and a final ruling of the panel is expected still in 2020,” the EC said.
“With regard to the reform of the Ukrainian forest-based sector, including wood harvesting and trade and, in particular, wood legality, Ukraine authorities from the Ministry of Environment Protection and Natural Resources committed during a TSD (Trade and Sustainable Development) sub-committee meeting in October 2020, to the need for a separation of functions between the management of resources and control functions and thus a reorganization and distribution of responsibilities between control and inspection on the one hand, and wood harvesting and trade on the other,” the report states.
Crude oil transit through Ukraine by pipelines to European countries and Belarus in January-September 2020 increased 5.5% (by 517,200 tonnes) compared to the same period in 2019, to 9.885 million tonnes, according to the data of JSC Ukrtransnafta.
The volume of oil transportation to refineries of Ukraine during this period amounted to 1.911 million tonnes, which is 8.7% (153,600 tonnes) more than in January-September 2019. Including oil transportation along the Odesa-Kremenchuk pipeline amounted to 839,000 tonnes (a rise of 32.2%).
Thus, in the first nine months of this year, the share of transit volume of the total oil transportation (11.796 million tonnes) amounted to 83.8%, the share of pumping to the country’s refineries – 16.2%.
In September 2020, oil transit through Ukraine by pipeline transport decreased 6.7% (by 90,200 tonnes) compared to the same month last year, to 1.255 million tonnes.
Pumping to Ukrainian refineries last month decreased 13.6% (by 32,100 tonnes),to 204,000 tonnes, including transportation of Ukrainian oil amounted to 112,100 tonnes, Azerbaijani oil – 76,800 tonnes, WTI oil – 15,100 tonnes.
The European Union is ready to provide Ukraine with EUR 1.2 billion of macro-financial assistance, but for this it needs to constructively interact with the International Monetary Fund and fulfill the requirements related to the rule of law, said Josep Borrell, Vice President of the European Commission, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
He said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Kyiv on Tuesday that they are also ready to provide $1.2 billion in macro-financial assistance in order to help solve the problems associated with the economic recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic, but for this Ukraine needs to constructively interact with the IMF and also fulfill all those requirements that relate to strengthening the rule of law in Ukraine.
Europe’s largest dental clinic Amel Smart Clinic providing a full range of dental services opened in Dnipro, said on Facebook Vadym Yermolayev, the chairman of board of directors of Alef Corporation, has said.
“Yesterday a huge progress was achieved in Dnipro in the development of dentistry and medical tourism in Ukraine. On September 20, the largest dental clinic in Europe with an area of 3,000 square meters opened at 2B Slavy Boulevard in Dnipro. Why is it unique? The patient here can receive the whole range of dental services, from diagnostics to the most complicated maxillofacial operations. The patient has the opportunity to do as many tests, consultations, procedures as possible without leaving the building and with a 99.9% probability being able to solve their problem in one clinic,” he wrote.
According to Yermolayev, Amel Smart Clinic has anesthesiology, rehabilitation, Ear Nose and Throat (ENT), pediatry and other departments.
The clinic is a part of Amel Medical Grouр, which produces and sells medical and dental equipment and performs dental practice. According to the state register, the final beneficiaries of LLC Amel Medical Group are Hanna Yermolayev and Serhiy Bashkin.
Yermolayev and Bashkin also own a dental clinic in Dnipro city centre Dental Clinic Dnipro (Amel Dental Clinic). Its income in 2019 increased by 53.3% compared to 2018, to UAH 81.5 million.
Oil transit through Ukraine by pipeline to European countries and Belarus in January-August 2020 increased by 7.6% (by 607,500 tonnes) compared to the same period in 2019, to 8.630 million tonnes, according to data from JSC Ukrtransnafta.
The volume of oil transportation to refineries of Ukraine during this period amounted to 1.707 million tonnes, which is 12.2% more than in January-August 2019. In particular, oil transportation along the Odesa-Kremenchuk route amounted to 747,100 tonnes.
Thus, for the eight months of this year, the share of transit volume in the total transportation of oil (10.337 million tonnes) amounted to 83.5%, the share of pumping to the country’s refineries 16.5%.
In August 2020, oil transit through Ukraine by pipeline decreased by 9.2% compared to the same month last year, to 1.262 million tonnes.
Pumping to Ukrainian refineries last month decreased by 0.9%, to 225,600 tonnes. In particular, transportation of Ukrainian oil amounted to 117,100 tonnes, Azerbaijani 43,000 tonnes, and American some 65,400 tonnes.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is convinced that the “Ukraine is Europe” slogan should not be formal, which Ukrainians recall once a year, it should be part of their consciousness. “I have always said that Europe is, first of all, a way of thinking. Europe begins with each of us, with each citizen, with the observance of laws, payment of taxes, protection of democratic values and civil society, free expression of will, freedom of speech, thought and religion, equality and respect, with the “allergy” to taking or giving bribes, with a properly parked car and a cigarette butt thrown into the garbage bin. Let’s make Europe Day every day,” he wrote on his page in the Facebook social network on the occasion of Europe Day.
Zelensky recalled that the European friends of Ukraine in 2020 marked the 70th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration, with which the European Union actually began its countdown.
“The words of Robert Schuman are still relevant today: “Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan.” The building of a united, prosperous and successful Europe continues. It is obvious to me that this process cannot be considered completed without Ukraine. We believe that this day will definitely come, and our state will be a full part of the European family!” the President of Ukraine said.
