27.11.2014 Ukraine: Daily Highlights - New Parliament has begun working

27.11.2014 Daily Highlights from ”Digests & Analytics Ukraine” News Agency

Topics of the day

New Parliament has begun working with election of its chairman and appointing the Prime Minister. Ukraine is moving forward to NATO and the EU membership. Significant reforms are on the way, the first of which is the reform of the judicial system. World oil prices have fallen to a five-year low.

In Ukraine

• During the first session of the Verkhovna Rada, Vladimir Groisman of the "Poroshenko Block," has been elected as the new Speaker. Yatseniuk is appointed as the new Prime Minister.
• In his speech in the Parliament, President Poroshenko proposed to allow foreigners to hold positions as Ministers and Deputy Ministers. Non-aligned status has been rejected.Immediate radical reform of the judicial system has been started. No Federalization in Ukraine. Military threat from Russia will continue for many years.
• First laws registered in the Parliament were to abolish the special status of the Donbass territories and recall of their members of parliament (MP).
• The National Bank has reduced the already meager amount of currency sales at auctions. Hryvnia exchange rate against major currencies has practically not changed: 14.96 UAH / $ (-1 cents), 18.67 UAH / € (+7 cents), 3.22 UAH / 10 rubles. (11 cents)
• National Standards Authority has been established as a part of the implementation of the Association Agreement with the EU (European Union).

Kiev

• Kiev’s budget, about 20 billion UAH will be adopted in early 2015.

War in Ukraine

• The positions of the Ukrainian army were attacked by militants 47 times, the defenders of the Donetsk airport repelled 13 attacks.
• During the shelling by the separatists of residential areas of Donetsk, and Shchastya Village, Luhansk region, two civilians were killed, significant amount of infrastructure destroyed.
• First airplane with Canadian military aid is coming to Ukraine.
• Another Russian "humanitarian convoy" has departed towards the border of Ukraine.
• The number of Russian troops in Ukraine is continually growing.

Ukraine and the World

• Refusal by OPEC Countries (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) to reduce oil production has led to a sharp price drop on the world markets, just over the past day price fell by $ 5 per barrel.
• The head of "Rosneft" Sechin proposed the creation of an alternative structure to control the price of oil, as he claims the existing organizations do not perform their functions.
• The Prosecutor's Office of the Netherlands has completed gathering all of the important evidence required for investigation from the wreckage site of Flight MA-17(Malaysia Airlines Flight 17) shot down by terrorists over the Donets Basin in July of 2014.
• 13 more names of leaders of terrorist “republics” of DNR (People’s Republic of Donetsk) and LNR (People’s Republic of Luhansk) as well as five organizations supporting them will be added to the EU’s Sanctions list.
• The Russian Defense Ministry has promised the families of military personnel killed in Ukraine, the status of those “Killed in the line of duty”, and the appropriate pensions.

Trends

• The appointment of foreigners to Cabinet Minister positions, have been ambiguously perceived in Ukrainian society. In order to work in the Government, they will have to obtain the citizenship of Ukraine under the accelerated procedure.