Ukraine will be able to achieve the transfer of entry points for export of gas by Gazprom to the Ukrainian-Russian border only in close cooperation with the European Commission and other European institutions.
This opinion was expressed by representatives of Naftogaz Ukrainy and the Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine (GTSOU) at an online briefing devoted to five years of gas independence held on Friday.
“We believe that the possibility of transferring entry points is technically possible. But there is no political consent on the part of the Russian Federation, because they understand that the European gas market is declining and do not want additional competitors. Therefore, we believe that it is necessary to fight against the monopoly position of the Russian Federation together with our European partners and institutions. They will allow us to create such conditions to force the Russian Federation to allow the transit of energy resources through its territory and, if European traders have such a desire, to move the gas entry points to the Ukraine-Russia border,” Director General of GTSOU Serhiy Makogon said.
According to him, European traders have already approached the Russian Federation with a similar proposal, but so far received a negative answer.
According to Lana Zerkal, advisor to the executive board chairman of Naftogaz Ukrainy, it is extremely important for Ukraine to involve the European Commission to cooperate in this process.
“It is the involvement of the European Commission as a moderator of such a discussion that is extremely important, since we already have a positive experience of conducting such trilateral negotiations in the gas sector. And here we should not look like a supplicant. We should do our part of the homework, namely: together with the European Commission conduct full screening and full monitoring of Ukrainian legislation on its compliance with the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement, which will give us the necessary basis for further joint work,” Zerkal said.
The relocation of Russian gas entry points to the eastern border of Ukraine will allow the country to more closely integrate into the European gas market and, in particular, to even more actively involve European traders in the placement of gas in Ukrainian underground storage facilities, she said.
The list of 103 priority investment projects until 2023, approved by the Cabinet of Ministers at a meeting on Wednesday, includes 14 airports.
According to the accompanying documents to the decree, in particular, in the specified list, the resumption of core activities and further development of the international airport in Cherkasy; reconstruction of the airfield of Ivano-Frankivsk International Airport; reconstruction of the international airport in Chernivtsi (all are funded from the state and local budgets, investor funds).
In addition, the priority is given to modernization of the material and technical base of Kherson International Airport (funding from the state and local budgets, credit funds); reconstruction of the international airport in Vinnytsia, the international airport in Odesa (the third stage of construction); the international airport in the city of Dnipro; construction of a new airport in Zakarpattia; reconstruction of the international airport in Poltava (all are funded from the state and local budgets, investor funds).
In addition, it is planned to renew the infrastructure of Rivne International Airport municipal enterprise (exclusively at the expense of the investor); to renovate the runway, buildings, networks of Sumy Airport municipal enterprise (at the expense of the state and local budgets, investor funds, credit funds); to reconstruct international airports in Kryvy Rih and Mykolaiv (at the expense of the state and local budgets, investor funds); to reconstruct and modernize the airport in Zhytomyr (at the expense of the investor and the state budget).
The Cabinet of Ministers has identified as a priority a project for production of ventilators, two waste incinerators and an air launch space rocket complex, a total of 103 priority investment projects in the approved list until 2023.
As the correspondent of the Interfax-Ukraine agency reports, the government approved the relevant order with a three-day revision at a meeting on Wednesday, November 18.
According to the draft decree, four out of 103 projects provide for financing entirely from the state budget, and another 43 projects partially from the state and/or local budget.
As indicated in the document, among the priority investment projects are the organization of the production of ventilators at the expense of the investor, the state budget and other sources, as well as the construction of a plant for solid household waste processing (ensuring environmental safety in Kyiv) at the expense of an investor.
In addition, among the priority projects is the construction of a waste sorting line in Drohobych (Lviv region) at the expense of the state budget and the local budget.
Among the investment projects that are planned to be implemented at the expense of the state budget and international technical assistance are the modernization of the An-124-100 and An-225 aircraft families at Antonov State Enterprise, an air launch rocket and space complex, the Observatory International Scientific Center on the Pip Ivan mountain – a platform for the development of the Carpathian region.
In addition, it is planned to implement a project to prepare the production of an infrared homing head for guided air missiles, as well as to expand the Yahodyn international checkpoint – exclusively at the expense of the state budget.
Also, at the expense of the investor, local budgets and the state budget, it is planned to implement the construction of waste incinerators in Kramatorsk and Mariupol, the construction of the tourist and transport infrastructure of the Shatsk National Natural Park (plus international technical assistance funds), and to build the H2O Nova Kakhovka Olympic Sports Center.
Ukraine can intensify trade with Asian countries, while maintaining focus on European markets, the Deputy Minister for Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture, Ukraine’s Trade Representative Taras Kachka has said.
“We have a good dialogue with these countries. It is very likely that we will continue to talk about the intensification of trade. There are requests from Indonesia. There are talks with Malaysia,” he said during the discussion “Trade Wars: the Art of Defense.”
According to the trade representative, the demand for Ukrainian products from Asia is growing and this is a phenomenon of 2020.
“The fact that this year the dynamics of trade with Asia is greater than with the EU does not mean that we should forget the EU and flee to Asia,” he said.
Kachka added that next year Ukraine will “evolutionarily” update its Export Strategy, which will allow the country to be more predictable in terms of trade policy.
“The less “somersaults” we have, the better. In fact, we need a gradual systematic work in all directions,” the official said.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved a draft agreement with the government of the Republic of Indonesia on the mutual cancellation of visa requirements.
The corresponding decision was made at a government meeting on Wednesday.
The draft agreement provides for the possibility of visa-free travel by citizens of the countries of the parties for up to 30 days during each visit of Ukrainian citizens to Indonesia and for up to 30 days within 60 days for travel of Indonesian citizens to Ukraine.
Ukraine has fulfilled all the obligations assumed during the meetings of the Mixed Commissions on International Road Freight Transport, but the Polish side does not honor the agreement at the presidential level, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine has said.
As reported on the website of the Ministry of Infrastructure, a working meeting of the Ministers of Infrastructure of Ukraine and the Republic of Poland Vladyslav Krykliy and Andrzej Adamczyk was held in Kyiv on Monday, during which the Ukrainian minister pointed out the fact that Ukraine’s fulfillment of its obligations led to a significant increase in the share of use of permits for 2019 by Polish haulers.
Krykliy reiterated that Poland should lift transit restrictions for Ukrainian haulers, since this negatively affects not only trade relations between the two countries, but also with other EU countries.
At the same time, he said that Ukrainian haulers are ready to compete in the two-sided market.
The ministers of Ukraine and Poland also discussed the work of crossing points across the Ukrainian-Polish border, in particular, the Korcheva-Krakovets point.
In addition, Krykliy said that currently the Verkhovna Rada is expected to consider at second reading a bill that solves the problem of VAT payment by work performers and service providers under the so-called “Polish loan,” but asked the Polish side to speed up the work of the construction company to repair the crossing point.
The Ukrainian minister suggested that the Polish side conduct a joint audit to determine the possible reasons for the appearance of queues at the border crossing points with the involvement of a third independent party, and introduce general border and customs control at crossing points to increase their efficiency.
