In Ukraine, from the beginning of 2023, newborns and 14-year-olds will be issued free certificates for Ukrainian publications in the amount of 0.3 subsistence minimum (lm) for able-bodied people (by the end of the year, this minimum will be increased from UAH 2,481 to 2684 UAH).
The relevant law “On Amendments to Certain Laws on Stimulating the Development of Ukrainian Book Publishing and Book Distribution” (No. 6287) was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on Sunday with 314 votes without discussion, according to information on its website.
In addition, the document provides for the payment of subsidies to specialized stores from April 1, 2023, in which 80% of revenue comes from book products.
After the adoption on January 25 in the first reading, when preparing the bill for the second, the amount of rental compensation was slightly increased: in Kyiv and international airports – from 0.3 to 0.35 linear meters, in territorial communities from 500 thousand – from 0.2 up to 0.25 l.m., from 100 to 500 thousand – from 0.16 to 0.2 l.m., from 30 to 100 thousand – from 0.08 to 0.12 l.m. and up to 30 thousand inhabitants – from 0.04 to 0.08 l.m.
At the same time, the rental area, the fee for which is subject to compensation, is limited from 50 m in small communities to 150 m in Kyiv.
The amount of the subsidy may also not be more than 20% of the income received from the sale of books in the relevant bookstore.
In the financial and economic justification section of the explanatory note for the first reading, it was noted that the amount of expenses from the state budget for providing subsidies to bookstores in 2023 will be from UAH 52 to 86 million.
Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk will speak at the European Parliament and possibly meet with French President Emanuel Macron.
“First of all, in France, I will work on the parliamentary line…. A possible meeting with President Macron is being worked out, if the schedule allows,” Stefanchuk said on the air of the national telethon on Sunday.
According to Stefanchuk, in addition to Paris, he will visit Strasbourg and speak at the European Parliament.
“We will also work in Strasbourg, in the European Parliament. I will have a meeting with the leadership of the European Parliament and a speech in the European Parliament, and meetings with the main political groups of the European Parliament in order to enlist their support at this final stage,” Stefanchuk said.
He also did not rule out meetings with heads of other institutions of the European Union.
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, FRANCE, PRESIDENT, UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT
Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk invited German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to visit Ukraine and speak in the Ukrainian parliament, the press service of the Verkhovna Rada office reports.
“Scholz thanked for this invitation, and I really hope that he will accept it,” Stefanchuk said in an interview with the ARD television channel, commenting on the results of the meeting with Scholz.
“Germany is the leader of the EU, and Germany’s opinion on Ukraine’s EU candidacy is very important. I think that I was able to dispel all the skeptical fears of Olaf Scholz and I really hope for his positive decision at the European Council summit,” the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada added.
Ukraine’s spending on the development and procurement of weapons and military hardware in 2022 has been increased by UAH 67.57 billion with UK loans totaling 1.7 billion and aimed at bolstering capacities of the Ukrainian Navy.
The Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada adopted the respective bill by 342 votes on Tuesday.
The bill enlarges this year’s budget expenditures from UAH 1,525.930 trillion to UAH 1,593.5 trillion with the special fund’s growth to UAH 221.11 billion.
Meanwhile, the budget deficit ceiling was raised from UAH 188.8 billion to UAH 256.36 billion, including UAH 96.1 billion for the special fund.
In addition, the budget no longer has restrictions at the amount of 3% of the planned revenue for the provision of state guarantees, as well as restrictions at the amount of UAH 10 billion and UAH 20 billion, respectively, for the provision of portfolio guarantees and loan guarantees, in order to increase the national defense capacity.
The bill limits road fund expenditures. “The money will be primarily spent on repaying the state debt, defense, and the development and maintenance of roads,” the Servant of the People faction said in comment on the bill.
An explanatory note says that Ukraine will be implementing state investment projects to purchase two minesweepers from British suppliers, to deliver and service these minesweepers, to ensure the joint construction of eight missile craft, and to deliver and install weapons on the available ships. It is also planned to jointly build a frigate and to receive advisory and technical support for the construction of naval infrastructure, including the delivery of equipment.
At the end of January, the Verkhovna Rada ratified a framework intergovernmental agreement on loan funding of the development of the Ukrainian Navy. The agreement was signed in London on November 12, 2021, to envisage allocations for the construction of eight missile craft, the procurement of two minesweepers from the UK, and the opening of two naval bases in Ukraine.
The Verkhovna Rada has extended martial law in Ukraine until April 25, 2022, MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak (the Holos parliamentary faction) has said.
“Today, the parliament has gathered again at the Verkhovna Rada… a number of important… decisions have been made,” Zhelezniak wrote on his Telegram channel on Tuesday.
According to him, the extension of the martial law in Ukraine is stipulated in bill No. 7168 on the extension of the martial law in Ukraine, which was backed by 343 MPs.
“The period of martial law in Ukraine is extended from 05.30 on March 26, 2022 for a period of 30 days,” the bill says.
On February 24, after the Russian attack and the shelling of all regions, martial law was introduced in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian parliament needs to resolve an issue of uncertainty in biotechnological activities and production of agricultural products containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) at the legislative level, if the country chooses a course towards the liberalization of such products, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is ready to help it.
“This is an initiative of Americans themselves. In Ukraine, there is uncertainty with GMOs and biotechnologies. That is, we have a law, but there are no by-laws, and this, in fact, creates a legal vacuum in this area. On the other hand, we have partially grown GMO crops – soy and rapeseed. So there needs to be some order. It is necessary to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to GMOs,” Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy Mykola Solsky said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
According to him, the USDA has offered its assistance to Ukraine if the parliament decides to liberalize the issue of GMO production in the country.
“Progress in this direction was planned even before the coronavirus pandemic. Therefore, for three days we arranged a meeting at the USDA with specialists leading all these programs,” Solsky specified the details of the trip of the Ukrainian delegation to the United States at the end of November 2021.
Solsky also said that about 80% of meat in the EU countries is produced from animals raised on GMO-containing feed, while GMO-containing fruits and vegetables are practically non-existent due to lack of demand.
“In Europe, there is no special philosophy about this. Americans do practical things that bring more money. It’s later, if the technology is so cheap that it can be used for eggplants, they will do it too. Therefore, GMO corn and GMO soybeans are the most consumed now – main carbohydrate and main protein, from which its development began. Now they are already working on GMO wheat,” the head of the committee said.
As reported, in August 2021, the Cabinet of Ministers supported the submission to the Verkhovna Rada of a draft law on state regulation of genetic engineering activities and control over the circulation of products with GMOs, this initiative is aimed at conducting a comprehensive review of existing legislation in the field of handling GMO products, and also allows to implement in Ukrainian legislation the normative acts in force in the EU.
