President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has signed an Election Code. “On December 27, 2019, [the document] returned with the president’s s signature,” reads a report on the parliament’s website.
Prior to this, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Dmytro Razumkov signed the document and submitted it to the president.
On December 19, Rada accepted all 17 proposals of Zelensky to the Election Code. A total of 330 MPs voted for respective decree No. 0978 in the second reading at its meeting on Thursday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced a launch of the new state program dubbed “Come Back and Stay.”
“Dear Ukrainians, I said during my swearing-in ceremony that there are 65 million of us Ukrainians across the globe, and our country badly needs you, your knowledge, your talents and mental values. We very much want you to come home. We also want to see those who have unfortunately given up in despair and are planning to leave Ukraine stay here,” Zelensky said in a video address on his Facebook page on Tuesday.
Affordable loans for those who wish to start or expand their own business will be the first step under this program, the Ukrainian president said.
“The loan amount will be UAH 1.5 million for five years. There will be the following interest rates: 5% for an existing or new business that will create at least two jobs, 7% for a new or existing business with revenues below UAH 25 million that creates no jobs, but if you hire a new employee, the rate will be cut by 0.5% with every new worker hired; and 9% for anyone presently working with revenues from UAH 25 to UAH 50 million, who wishes to expand their business,” Zelensky said.
Detailed information about conditions and mechanisms to facilitate the program and about its further stages will be available soon, he said.
“We have a lot more interesting ideas. If you’ve been dreaming of opening your own coffee shop, or car service, or barber shop, or wishing to expand your convenience store, cheese dairy or furniture factory, basically, any kind of business, please do come back and stay […] Let’s build a successful and flourishing Ukraine. And let’s do it together!” Zelensky said.
Zelensky, who took office of Ukrainian president on May 20 this year, promised Ukrainian citizenship to all ethnic Ukrainians across the globe willing to work for the benefit of the nation.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has held a meeting at which he set the task for heating tariffs to be reduced in Ukrainians’ utility bills in December, since gas prices for the population had previously been reduced. “Gas prices have decreased, but tariffs have not. Why so? We are looking for ways to reduce the price and make Ukrainians receive lower heating bills in December,” he said on his Facebook page, where a video was also posted about the meeting attended by Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk, Energy Minister Oleksiy Orzhel, Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Bohdan and his deputy Yulia Kovaliv.
At the meeting, it was said that after lowering gas prices, Ukrainians should receive lower tariffs, but legislatively, it is impossible today to change heating tariffs until May 2020.
“We’ve coped with the gas price. In order for the heat tariff to go down this winter, we have a very short bill, which can be introduced by the president as urgent, and the adoption of this law will lead to the fact that our tariff for the population will decrease. This winter we have already protected consumers from tariff growth, because it has traditionally grown. It will not grow anymore,” Honcharuk said.
Kovaliv, in turn, noted that the National Commission for Energy, Housing and Utilities Services Regulation (NCER) is authorized to change the tariffs and this issue should also be discussed with the regulator.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has emphasized that every corrupt official in Ukraine should be punished, regardless of surname, position and the sphere of activity. “Another priority is corruption crimes. Every corrupt official should be held accountable regardless of his surname, we understand whom we are speaking about, position and the sphere of activity. Be sure, as the president of Ukraine, I am your ally in this difficult struggle,” he said on the occasion of the Prosecutor’s Day on November 29.
Zelensky wished the prosecutors every day to appear in “high-profile news, in which the numbers of 5, 10, 15, 20, 50 will appear, but this will not be the amount of bribes, but the years that criminals and corrupt officials received due to your professional work.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is not in favor of hasty and ill-conceived retrospective amendments to legislation that worsen the condition for doing business in the country, the head of state said at a briefing in Vilnius on Wednesday after a meeting with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda.
“I want to confirm once again: my team and I will not take any hasty and ill-conceived steps related to retrospective changes in our legislation that would worsen the conditions for doing business in the country,” Zelensky said.
“We respect any investor who already works in our country. This applies to everyone, regardless of sector and business, from a restaurant to the green energy sector,” the president added.
He said that the second Lithuanian solar power plant was opened in Ivano-Frankivsk region on Wednesday (the plant of Lithuania’s Modus Grupe with a capacity of 14 MW in the village of Zalukva).
“It’s pleasant that Lithuanian companies not only stay on the Ukrainian market, but also continue developing investment projects,” Zelensky said.
According to him, Ukraine expects the boost of investment activities.
“We are betting on improving the mechanisms of public private partnership, which is one of the tools to attract additional investment in the public sector of the economy,” the head of state said, recalling the recently adopted law on concession.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky will pay an official visit to the Republic of Estonia on November 26, and the Republic of Lithuania on November 27.
“During the visit, negotiations are scheduled between the head of state and Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid, as well as meetings with President of the Riigikogu (parliament) Henn Põlluaas and Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas,” the press service of the president of Ukraine said.
Also in Tallinn, the presidents of Ukraine and Estonia will take part in the Digital Forum.
During his visit to Lithuania, Zelensky will take part in the twelfth meeting of the Council of Presidents of Ukraine and Lithuania.
“During the visit, it is planned to hold separate negotiations between the head of state and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, Lithuanian Seimas Speaker Viktoras Pranckietis and Prime Minister of Lithuania Saulius Skvernelis,” it said.
Also in Vilnius, the presidents of Ukraine and Lithuania will take part in the Fifth Bilateral Economic Forum.
