German Chancellor Angela Merkel on June 18 will discuss Minsk agreements and reforms in Ukraine with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, official representative of the German government Ulrike Demmer has said. “During the working lunch, politicians will talk about bilateral relations, the implementation of the Minsk agreements, the conflict in the east of Ukraine and the reform process. Then a press conference will be held,” Demmer told reporters.
According to her, for Germany the “Minsk process” to settle the situation in Ukraine is very important.
“You know how important the Minsk process is to us,” she said. Despite the fact that work within the framework of the format at different levels is ongoing, Demmer did not specify the dates of the summit of the leaders of the Normandy Four or a meeting of foreign ministers.
“Work under the Normandy Four is under way, and I cannot tell you about specific events now,” the spokeswoman for the German government said.
Zelensky will also meet President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Germany.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is looking for ways to cut the energy tariffs for households, but it should be done in a way so not to devaluate the hryvnia, arouse additional inflation or economic crisis, representative of the head of state in the government Andriy Gerus has written on his Facebook page. According to him, work in this direction is underway. The president has already held two meetings devoted to this issue, and to fulfill the task, an efficient parliament and new laws are needed.
Now, Zelensky’s team is developing a comprehensive plan to reduce housing and utility tariffs for households, where possible, without negative side effects, the presidential envoy to the Cabinet of Ministers said.
One of the necessary conditions for this plan is the demonopolization of energy markets, Gerus said, expressing the hope that the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine will eventually begin to work fully.
According to him, it is also necessary to achieve growth in gas production (for which it is necessary to attract foreign investors to this area). At the same time, Gerus added that the stoppage of gas imports, according to the calculations of the Zelensky’s team, will reduce its price for households by 20-30%.
The president’s team also understands that some categories of the population are unfairly deprived of subsidies, the rules should be reviewed. To find funds in the budget for their payment, some oligarchs will have to be deprived of tax breaks and preferences, Gerus said.
He also said about unofficial information in the press about the increase in gas tariffs for households by 10-15% and electricity tariffs – by 150%.
“Our opinion was: these steps cannot be done without trust and understanding of society. Before this, there is a need to demonstrate to Ukrainians firm and fair actions of regulators regarding energy monopolies, and also show that punishment is incurred for stealing tariff funds. As I understand, our opinion has been taken into account,” Gerus said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will pay an official visit to France on June 17 and to Germany on June 18, the Presidential Administration has reported.
“The program of the visits envisages meetings of the head of state with the leadership of France and Germany, the heads of parliaments, as well as with leading French and German business representatives,” the administration said on its Facebook page on Thursday.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky at a meeting with the delegation of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), led by its president Suma Chakrabarti, has assured that bilateral cooperation will be intensified and will become more efficient. “We thank you for being here and thank you for being the largest investor in Ukraine. I want to assure that we will extend our cooperation,” Zelensky said at the meeting.
He stressed that the strategy of the EBRD is fully consistent with the priorities of Ukraine, and expressed conviction that Ukraine and the bank together can work more efficiently. Zelensky noted that the country appreciates cooperation with the international partners: the EBRD, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
The president noted he had already met with the representatives of the IMF, at which Ukraine’s progress in fulfilling its obligations under the Stand-By Arrangement was noted. According to Zelensky, the parties discussed the issue of continuing cooperation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed 15 heads of regional state administrations, deputy head of the Presidential Administration Ruslan Riaboshapka has said.
“The first part of motions has arrived from the Cabinet of Ministers today for the dismissal of the heads of regional state administrations. So, governors have been dismissed in such regions as Chernihiv, Khmelnytsky, Kherson, Ternopil, Sumy, Poltava, Odesa, where the acting head has been suspended, as well as Mykolaiv, Lviv, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zaporizhia, Zakarpattia, and Volyn,” he said at a briefing on Tuesday outside the Presidential Administration’s building in Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has proposed introducing criminal liability in the form of jail terms from five to 10 years for illegal enrichment and for changing the procedure of confiscating illegally obtained property from officials.
Corresponding presidential bill (No.10358) on amending some legislative acts regarding the confiscation of illegal assets of persons authorized to perform the functions of the state or local self-government and punishment for acquiring such assets was submitted to parliament on Monday. The text of the document was published on the parliament’s website on Tuesday.
For an official acquiring assets worth more 12,000 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens exceeding his income, the bill proposes punish with imprisonment from five to 10 years with the deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years.
Corresponding Article 3685 “Illegal enrichment” is proposed to be introduced into Ukraine’s Criminal Code.
The draft law proposes amendments to the procedure for filing a claim for recognition of unjustified assets and their recovery into state revenue. The corresponding lawsuit will be filed by a representative of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) in coordination with the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).
Current legislation provides that a lawsuit on the recognition of assets as unfounded may be brought against an official, in respect of whom a court conviction entered into legal force for committing a corruption offense or legalizing proceeds from crime. Under the current law, prosecutor takes measures to establish property to whom there is evidence that the person involved in the case received it, uses or disposes of it.
The new edition of this provision provides that a lawsuit is filed against unjustified assets received after the entry into force of the law, if it is enacted, and also within three years before the law enters into force, if the difference between the value of the assets and the official’s income exceeds 500 or more times the size of the subsistence minimum for able-bodied citizens.
Cases on the recognition of unjustified assets and their recovery in state revenue will be investigated by the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court.
