Parliamentary immunity has stopped being in effect from January 1, 2020.
As reported, On September 3, the Verkhovna Rada voted to adopt on its merits bill No. 7203 amending Article 80 of the Constitution of Ukraine which fully abolishes parliamentary immunity from 2020.
The law removes from Article 80 of the Constitution the provision stating that parliamentarians cannot be prosecuted, detained or arrested without the consent of the Verkhovna Rada and that they are guaranteed parliamentary immunity.
Only one provision remained in the article. This states that Ukrainian parliamentarians do not bear legal liability for the voting outcomes or statements made in the parliament or its bodies, with the exception of liability for slander or defamation.
At the end of 2019, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed bill No. 2237 into law, bringing the Ukrainian legislation regarding the immunity of deputies into line with the Constitution of Ukraine.
According to the adopted amendments, the application for permission to detain, select the measure of restraint (detention in custody, house arrest), and other investigative search actions must be agreed with the prosecutor general.
Investigators of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the central office of the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) are entitled to conduct pretrial investigation of criminal proceedings opened against MPs. It is forbidden to entrust the execution of a pretrial investigation of a criminal offense committed by an MP of Ukraine to other bodies of pretrial investigation, except for the NABU and the central office of the SBI in accordance with their investigative jurisdiction.
Retail trade in comparable prices (both by legal entities and individual entrepreneurs) in Ukraine in January-November 2019 grew by 10.4% year-over-year, the country’s State Statistics Service said on Friday.
In November 2019 alone, retail trade increased by 2.8% from October 2019 and by 12.8% from November 2018.
The highest retail trade growth in January-November 2019 year-over-year was recorded in Kyiv region (by 19.8%), Vinnytsia region (by 18.9%), Ternopil region (by 17.2%), and Luhansk region (by 16.5%).
The State Statistics Service says its report does not include data from temporarily occupied territories, namely the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the city of Sevastopol and certain districts in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Ukraine delivered 248 tonnes of snails of its own production onto the European market in January-September 2019, while shipments of snails to the EU in the 12 months of 2018 totaled a mere 93 tonnes. The number of domestic enterprises eligible to supply snail products onto the EU market has increased over two years, the Ukrainian government said on its website on Wednesday.
“According to the results of the third quarter of this year, 17 enterprises received such license. In 2018, there were only five of them,” the Cabinet said.
Ukraine and Slovakia have approved the contents of the agreement determining the conditions of the use of airspace of Slovakia at the Uzhgorod international airport, the Infrastructure Ministry of Ukraine has reported on its website.
The parties discussed the provisions of the intergovernmental agreement determining the conditions of the use of part of the airspace of Slovakia for the provision of air traffic services by a certain Ukrainian air navigation services prov
ider at the Uzhgorod airport and agreed on the draft version of the agreement.
“Prior to signing by officials authorized by the respective governments, the agreement is subject to domestic approval procedures in accordance with the procedures for the formal functioning of international agreements that exist in each country,” the ministry said.
Minister Vladyslav Krykliy said that the Ukrainian side would ensure the passage of domestic approval procedures as quickly as possible and hoped for the same actions by the Slovak side. м
He also said that during the visit of Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová to Ukraine on September 16, 2019, the heads of state confirmed the need to intensify the work of the parties in order to conclude the relevant agreement as soon as possible.
The German-Ukrainian Fund (GUF) jointly with financial partners – OTP Leasing, Oschadbank and Ukrgasbank – has started implementing the FinancEast program to finance investment projects of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in government-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
An Interfax-Ukraine correspondent has reported that GUF signed agreements with OTP Leasing, Oschadbank and Ukrgasbank under the program in Kyiv on Thursday.
To implement the FinancEast program, the European Union provided Ukraine with a grant of EUR 9.5 million through the German development bank KfW. Grant resources will be provided to SME in the form of compensation up to 50% of the cost of investment projects financed by OTP Leasing, Oschadbank and Ukrgasbank. Investment projects include the purchase of agricultural machinery, equipment, vehicles, installation, construction and reconstruction of premises on a lease or loan.
“I am very glad that this program was decided to be implemented on the basis of GUF. We are impressed that this program is aimed at investments, at hryvnia lending to the regions that need financing most. And with the help of GUF we provide what our creditors require – transparency, reporting and effectiveness of these programs,” GUF Executive Director Oleh Strynzha said at a briefing.
First Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Kateryna Rozhkova said that the NBU is taking a number of measures aimed at enhancing lending, including lending to SME, which can become a driving force for the country’s economic development. “In December, we eased the requirements for banks when lending to private entrepreneurs and new enterprises. And we hope that this will greatly facilitate not only the work of banks, but also the entrepreneurs themselves… The second point: we continue working on the development of such instruments as guarantees and compensation tools for SME together with our donors and the government,” she said.
The visa-free agreement between Ukraine, Northern Macedonia will enter into force on December 22, 2019.
“To northern Macedonia without a visa on an ongoing basis: both short and long-term (immigration) visas have been cancelled!” said State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Zayats on his Twitter page.
The agreement provides for visa-free travel with biometric passports for a short stay (up to 90 days during 180 days), cancellation of long-term visas for stays of more than 90 days for the purpose of employment, study, family reunion and/or immigration.
In addition, according to the agreement, it is possible to apply for other categories of long-term visas free of charge.
