Law, philology and IT specialties are traditionally in the highest demand among applicants to Ukrainian universities, Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Serhiy Shkarlet said.
“In 2020-2022, in the structure of the state order, much attention is paid to engineering high-tech specialties, that is, professions of the future. But traditionally, the most active specialties in terms of demand are law, philology and IT specialties,” Shkarlet said on the air of the national telethon on Thursday afternoon .
At the same time, the minister noted that today there is also a significant demand for the specialty “psychology” (11,000 applications have already been submitted) and “pedagogy” (9,000 applications).
The Verkhovna Rada on Thursday adopted an updated law on privatization (No. 7451), which will transfer large privatization to Prozorro auctions without advisers, speed up small privatization and remove a number of problematic issues.
233 deputies voted “for” with the required minimum of 226, according to information on the parliament’s website.
“Regarding large privatization. The main thing that has changed is that we are transferring all large privatization to Prozorro. All procedures have been prescribed as it is in small privatization,” one of the main innovations was named earlier in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine and. about. Head of the State Property Fund Olga Batova.
According to her, large-scale privatization, in the form in which it was and in which it is now, has shown the inefficiency of advisers. Among the claims against them, the head of the Fund singled out the lengthy preparation of the object for privatization; duplication of transactions with potential buyers, in particular on audit; potential corruption risks of engagement by one of the potential buyers.
“The draft law proposes that the Foundation will make a virtual folder (data room) with all the information about the enterprise: all valid contracts, court cases, financial statements – we fully set out and give each potential buyer three months to do an audit on their own,” she described the proposed new procedure, the head of the SPF.
With regard to small-scale privatization, she pointed out that the law further simplifies procedures, for example, introduces an online signature of the auction protocol, shortens the entire process from the moment the auction is announced to the signing of the contract to two months, introduces the possibility in some cases to do without the AMCU, cancels the requirement to publish in newspaper “Vedomosti Privatization”.
“In addition, we have provided for a very important change that will always be in effect: so that payment for the object is made before the signing of the contract – after the auction and the signing of the protocol, but before the signing of the contract,” the head of the SPF stressed. According to her, there are several cases, especially in the auctions held at the end of February, that buyers do not want to pay, arguing that it was force majeure.
Another important norm, she called the possibility of selling objects with arrests, which will allow creditors to finally receive their funds. “We propose to re-register the ownership of the winner of Prozorro, but all arrests will remain until the new owner repays the debt,” she explained.
“The list for privatization today includes a little more than 115 enterprises. There are many more objects,” Batova said.
The Law on the Anti-Corruption Strategy of Ukraine until 2025 came into force on Sunday, after its publication on Saturday in the Voice of Ukraine newspaper.
According to the Telegrams of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC), the NAPC with the government, the public and business have already begun joint work to develop a state program to implement the Anti-Corruption Strategy. It will define specific tasks to overcome corruption and the authorities responsible for their implementation. The NAPC will ensure that the process is as inclusive as possible.
In addition, the NAPC will develop a special IT tool so that the public can monitor the implementation of the anti-corruption strategy.
The law was adopted by Parliament on June 20 and signed by the President of Ukraine on July 7.
The Anti-Corruption Strategy consists of four sections. The first one is devoted to the concept of formation of anti-corruption policy in Ukraine in the next five years. The remaining sections of the document contain a description of certain problems and expectations of strategic results to be achieved in order to solve them.
As noted in the law, the Anti-Corruption Strategy will help ensure the coherence and consistency of anti-corruption activities of all state authorities and local governments.
According to the document, the optimization of the functions of the state and local self-government provides for the elimination of duplication of powers by different bodies, the temporary cessation of the implementation of ineffective powers, which are characterized by a high level of corruption risks. The strategy also provides for the digital transformation of the exercise of powers by state authorities and local governments, transparency of activities and openness of data.
It also provides for the need to ensure the inevitability of legal liability for corruption and corruption-related offences.
According to the adopted law, a working group on anti-corruption policy issues (a coordinating working consultative and advisory group) will be created under the NAPC as a body co-chaired by the head of the NAPC and the Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The personal composition of the working group is approved by the government, in particular, by agreement, people’s deputies can also enter it. Its main tasks are to promote the coordination of actions of state authorities on the implementation of the Anti-Corruption Strategy and the implementation of measures of the state anti-corruption program.
The Verkhovna Rada annually no later than June 1 will have to hold parliamentary hearings on the implementation of the Anti-Corruption Strategy. At the same time, the NAPC undertakes to develop a new draft Anti-Corruption Strategy no later than August 1 of the year in which the previous one ends. In addition, the National Agency must annually inform the Cabinet of Ministers by April 1 about the results of the implementation of the measures of the state anti-corruption program to implement the Anti-Corruption Strategy.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law on the resumption of taxation of imports, including cars, from July 1, head of the parliamentary committee on finance, taxation and customs policy Danylo Hetmantsev said.
“Bill No. 7418 on the resumption of import taxes was signed by the President,” Hetmantsev wrote on Telegram on Thursday.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday signed the law on ratification of the Istanbul Convention, adopted by Parliament on Monday.
“Signed! The Law on the ratification of the Istanbul Convention. Its main content is simple, but extremely important. This is an obligation to protect women from violence and various forms of discrimination,” the head of state wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed law No. 2246-IX (previously bill No. 7264 on uninterrupted production and supply of agricultural products during martial law), adopted by the Verkhovna Rada as a whole on May 12.
The relevant information was published on the parliamentary website on Wednesday.
As reported, the Verkhovna Rada simplified the export, import and transit of agricultural products to Ukraine during martial law, which will expand farmers’ access to fertilizers and genetic material of farm animals, as well as support the Ukrainian organic industry.
“The task of the state is to simplify farming under martial law as much as possible and reduce the bureaucratic burden on business and government bodies. This applies, in particular, to the state registration of pesticides and agrochemicals, which is extremely important during the spring sowing campaign in 2022. Also it is important to support niche sectors of agriculture and organic production,” the explanatory note to the document states.
Law No. 2246-IX abolishes until the end of martial law and for 90 days after its cancellation the state registration of agrochemicals imported into Ukraine, including some types of nitrogen fertilizers, ammonium nitrates, ammonia in aqueous solution, thiosulfates, potassium, calcium and aluminum phosphates, borates, chelate zinc and a number of other mineral fertilizers.
In addition to the simplified import of such types of fertilizers, the bill cancels the state registration procedure for their production, sale, use and advertising.
The law also allows producers of organic products to use the label “organic”, “biodynamic”, “biological”, “ecological”, “organic” until July 1, 2024, even if they are not operators of organic products in accordance with law 2496-VIII on turnover organic products.
This initiative allows Ukrainian producers of organic products that were producing according to EU standards, but did not meet the status of an operator of organic products according to Ukrainian standards, to switch to Ukrainian production standards without an additional transition period. It also allows them to qualify for government support.
The document expands the list of entities that can take samples and conduct phytosanitary examination, in particular, introduces until the end of martial law and by 90 after its cancellation a simplified procedure for involving employees of private laboratories in the examination, and also authorizes agronomists-inspectors to conduct such inspections to conduct an audit on certification.
In addition, Law No. 2246-IX allows the import to Ukraine of cargoes with live animals in transit through countries where there are cases of disease from the list of the International Epizootic Bureau (OIE). This will allow the Ukrainian livestock industry to access modern breeding genetic material from the EU countries and expand the diversity of breeding material of agricultural animals in Ukraine.
ANIMALS, FERTILIZERS, IMPORT, LAW, PHYTOSANITARY CERTIFICATES
