German residents were moving more actively around the country on Sunday, many domestic trains were jammed with passengers as people sought to get to their desired destinations before a major strike by transport workers began, Western media reported.
On Monday, March 27, many transport workers, from railroad workers to airport and public transport employees in cities, are expected to take part in a nationwide strike. This strike is expected to halt traffic in the country for a day.
German trade unions have called on thousands of transport workers to take part in the strike and to demand higher wages – to cope with high inflation. Thus, in the trade union Verdi said that they had appealed to go on strike to 120 thousand people and in the EVG union that protects the rights of railway workers in Germany – to 230 thousand people.
The unions are seeking to raise the wages of the transport industry employees by 10-12%, but at the moment, the employers offer a phased increase of 5% and a one-time payment of about EUR2.5 thousand.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, the day before the strike, Munich Airport was already closed, flights were also cancelled or delayed in Germany’s largest airport – Frankfurt am Main Airport.
The total budget of technical assistance projects to be implemented in Ukraine within the framework of the International Climate Initiative will amount to EUR 44.5 million, including both new projects and those planned to be launched before the war or whose work was temporarily suspended with the outbreak of hostilities.
According to the website of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine on Tuesday, such initiatives were discussed in Berlin during the meeting of the Ukrainian delegation headed by Deputy Minister Alexander Krasnolutsky with representatives of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection of Germany, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection of Germany, the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Secretariat of the German Institute for International Cooperation.
German projects, in particular, will cover support for Ukraine in implementing the Paris Agreement and adaptation to the consequences of climate change in the Black Sea region, establishing an emissions trading system, forming a low emission policy, preserving forests in the Carpathians, and increasing Ukraine’s ability to overcome the consequences of war and integrate into the EU. In addition, they talked about Ukraine’s accession to the climate club, which is now being formed by the European Union.
In addition, the German government is ready to help Ukraine with the construction of rehabilitation centers for animals affected by war, which are envisaged in the plan for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine.
According to Krasnolutsky, Ukraine is striving to apply the best practices that exist today in Europe for its reconstruction and development.
The German federal government is allocating 5 million euros to support a project to repair war-damaged schools in Ukraine, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Ukraine reports.
“The UNDP-coordinated project will promote sustainability and green recovery through the repair and modernization of damaged educational institutions in war-affected territories as part of the UNDP Resilience and Recovery Programme. The first sites where repairs will be funded were selected from a list of 74 schools located in 12 cities that are in urgent need of repair work. The list was compiled by the Ministry of Education of Ukraine”, – stated in the message.
The financial contribution of the German government will be distributed among 12 schools in five regions – Zaporizhzhia, Mykolayiv, Rivne, Sumy and Chernihiv. Thus, more than 3 thousand students will be able to resume their education.
In the course of repair work, the Eurocode 8 standard, which applies to the design and construction of structures and other construction work in seismic areas, will be applied. There will also be a unified approach to the repair and modernization of existing buildings. The use of hazardous building materials (e.g., asbestos, sealants containing persistent organic pollutants) will be prohibited, the use of environmentally friendly furniture and equipment will be encouraged (e.g., LED lights instead of fluorescent lamps containing mercury). In addition, a key part of the initial design task and part of the requirements for the selection of the design team and developers will be the criteria of architectural accessibility.
“The UNDP team has already begun inspecting each building and assessing specific rehabilitation needs. The accelerated procurement procedure will allow identifying a group of companies to carry out repairs that will be carried out in full compliance with national legislation and Eurocode 8 standards, while respecting Build Back Better principles,” said UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine Jaco Silje, noting that institutions that have suffered minor or partial damage will be repaired and modernized.
German Ambassador to Ukraine Anka Feldhusen said it is important to invest in Ukraine’s future and in the sustainability of its children and teachers.
“Eventually these children will live in this great country and rebuild it for the better. But they need schools to teach them and teachers to show them the way. We also need to make sure that school buildings are safe places to learn in terms of environmental standards,” she stressed.
Germany has joined an international project to restore Ukrainian cities #UN4Kharkiv-Mykolaiv and allocated EUR5 million.
As it was informed, the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has created working groups #UN4Kharkiv and #UN4Mykolaiv and invited international architects to help these cities develop future master plans. The British architect Norman Foster Foundation helps Kharkiv, while the global design and architectural company One Works (Italy) coordinates the work in Nikolaev.
It became known about the German side joining the projects during the online meeting of the working groups, which was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine, UNECE, the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany, local governments of Mykolaiv and Kharkiv and other international organizations.
“Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale aggression, we have been sending the most necessary aid to Ukraine. And at the same time we are thinking about how to support you in rebuilding after the end of the war, because it is necessary to prepare for this now. I personally received a task from the German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz to represent our country in this work,” said State Secretary of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development Jochen Flasbart.
He recalled that the G7 countries met last December, during which the member states expressed their understanding that Ukraine needed comprehensive assistance.
Flasbat said that the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development will provide the international project #UN4Kharkiv-Mykolaiv with financial support of EUR5 million.
“We are giving the “green light” and preparing funds so that these projects can be successfully implemented. We hope that the terrible war will end as soon as possible, and we will start rebuilding Ukraine,” Jochen Flasbarth makes plans for the future.
The German government has approved the supply of Leopard 1 main battle tanks to Ukraine. A total of 88 tanks from the Rheinmetall Group and 99 tanks from Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft have been approved for export, Business Insider reported.
It is noted that the official figures will be released on Tuesday.
At the same time, the publication’s sources in the German government say, funding for tank repairs has not yet been secured. It should be definitively clarified only in the next few weeks.
In addition, the first tanks are not expected to be delivered until the middle of this year. The exact number of them has not yet been established, insiders say, it also depends on funding. It is also unclear whether all 187 Leopard 1s will eventually be combat-ready, or whether many of the tanks will have to be used as spare parts depots.
Furthermore, private conversations within the government also point out that the military and strategic significance of tank delivery is not so much in the vehicles themselves, but in the change in the ammunition used. The Leopard tanks use the NATO standard 105mm caliber, which means a much better supply of ammunition for Ukraine, as it cannot produce ammunition for its old Soviet tanks itself. In the long run, this could increase the resilience of the Ukrainian army.
The German government has allocated funds for eco-modernization of Ukrainian enterprises under the Best Available Technologies and Management Methods (BATM) for Ukraine program, which provides for co-financing of several BATM implementation projects by businesses up to EUR2 million each, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine Ruslan Strilec said.
“We understand that we must make considerable efforts to obtain financial instruments to restore our economic sustainability. And it is important to carry out this renewal with technologies that will be less harmful to the environment,” said Strilets, who was quoted in a release from the ministry with reference to his speech at a national telethon on Thursday.
He specified that the documents for participation in the program are open and the projects will be selected till February 28, 2023.
At the same time, the minister noted that the Ministry of Environment together with the people’s deputies finalized the necessary framework law № 6004-d, which would outline the framework of ecomodernization and reconstruction of enterprises on the best available technologies and enable to attract funds of international technical assistance for the realization of such projects.
The minister expressed confidence that the experience of implementation of this program would be a qualitative beginning of cooperation with other European partners.
He cited data from the Kiev School of Economics, according to which since the war in Ukraine at least 412 enterprises have been damaged or destroyed, of which 64 are large and medium-sized.
As for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine as a whole, according to Strilz, there is indeed a clear understanding at the highest political level of Ukraine that its reconstruction should be green and using the best available technologies, and the European Green Deal, which Ukraine joined back in 2020, could be the basis for the post-war “green” development of the country.
In his opinion, this is not only an opportunity for Ukraine to contribute to the global fight against climate change, but also to solve the problems that arose after February 24, 2022.
“After all, no one will argue that it is important for us to develop green energy, because our energy security and the energy security of Europe depend on it. It is important for us that every destroyed house is rebuilt according to new standards, and every kindergarten, school and other social facility is built according to modern energy-saving technologies. Today we are taking steps to attract investment in such projects, “- said the head of the Ministry of Environment.
According to information on the site of German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), it implements the project “The best available technologies and methods of management (LDTIM) for Ukraine” on the behalf of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection of Germany (BMUV) and will help Ukrainian enterprises to implement these technologies and reduce industrial emissions. The political partner of the LDTIM project in the implementation of industrial pollution reform is the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Ukraine.
According to the conditions of participation in the project, grants in the amount of 20% of total costs for implementation of the LDTIM project are provided as co-funding, but no more than EUR2 million for one project, within the limits of available funds of the program.
80% of the grant is to be paid in installments according to the enterprise’s equipment/services procurement plan, and 20% is to be paid after the final audit.
