12/01/2015 Ukraine: Daily Highlights - The negotiations of the foreign ministers to settle the crisis in the Donbass failed

1

2/01/2015 Daily Highlights by the "Digests and Analytics - Ukraine" News Agency

Topics of the day

A contest for the post of the head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau is started. The negotiations of the foreign ministers to settle the crisis in the Donbass failed. President Poroshenko intends to provide "special economic status" to Donbass.

Key Events In Ukraine

• Supplements to the state budget for 2015 were published on the site of the Verkhovna Rada 12 days after signing by the President. They specifically foresee borrowing in domestic and foreign markets in the amount of 300 billion UAH.
• President Poroshenko said that Ukraine is ready to provide the status of a special economic zone for Donbass with its own way of relations with Russia. Nevertheless, it has to hold its local elections in accordance with Ukrainian legislation.
• The Law "On the cleansing of power" needs to be rewritten in accordance with the conclusions of the Venice Commission.
• Vice Prime Minister Kirilenko stated that the Cabinet is ready to make changes in the budget and tax codes as a result of the consultation with the IMF before February 15, ин цоординатион with the цоалитион deputy factions.
• The administration of the President announced a competition for the position of the Head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau. It was confirmed that the Bureau may be lead by a foreigner.
• The price of South African coal delivered to TPP Ukraine will be $ 99 per ton. Former director of "Ukrinterenergo" is detained for abuses at the conclusion of the previous contract by the prosecutor's office.
• The Cabinet of Ministers transferred the property of the Donetsk Railway, located on the territory controlled by the militants of the DPR LPR, to the South and Dnieper railroads.
• According to the deputy Gopko, at a meeting with members of the Verkhovna Rada American billionaire Soros discussed the election of the chairman of the anti-corruption bureau and the fight against corruption, cooperation between Ukrainian branches of government, judicial reform, cooperation with international financial institutions and investments in Ukraine.
• Issuance of biometric passports has began. President Poroshenko recieved the first passport.
• According to the freedom of speach rating by the international organization "Reporters Without Borders", Ukraine worsened its position as compared to the year 2013 and took 127 place between Colombia and Afghanistan.
• NBU said that the international currency reserves of Ukraine fell to $ 7.5 billion, lower than in December 2004. Over December, foreign exchange reserves declined by a quarter due to buying gas from Gazprom by Naftogaz, servicing the state debt and foreign exchange interventions by the National Bank. Most of the revenue came from borrowing in the domestic and foreign markets.
• The IMF mission will work in Kiev until January 29. Therefore, the next tranche of the stand-by credit Ukraine could get no earlier than February, in case of a positive decision.
• The official hryvnia exchange rate is almost unchanged: 15.76 UAH / USD (+0.01 UAH), 18.61 UAH / EUR (+0,08 UAH) 2.80 UAH / 10 RUR.

Kiev

• In the capital, several public transport routes were closed and the number of buses, trams and trolley buses reduced, due to the lack of funding.
• An outbreak of acute intestinal infection registered in Bortnichi due to the contamination of drinking water with E. coli. 49 people were hospitalized.

War in Ukraine

• The situation in Donetsk is becoming more tense. The militants and the Russian troops have massively attacked the Airport, Pisky, Avdeevka from MLRS "Grad" and heavy artillery located in residential neighborhoods. Locals resent the use of residential areas as a cover for militants.
• Towns were attacked along the whole the line of contact. Two checkpoints of transport corridors were closed to travel. The leader of the Donetsk "republic" Zakharchenko said that he would resolve the conflict by force, as Ukraine has decided to withdraw from the truce unilaterally.
• The command of the anti-terrorist operation gave explanations on the procedure of crossing the border zone of military operations through the corridors.

Ukraine and the World

• In Berlin, a meeting of the foreign ministers of the “Normandy four" - Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France on the settlement of the war crisis in the Donbass took place. Participants stressed the commitment to the peaceful resolution of the conflict, named conditions for the meeting of leaders of the four countries in Astana (Kazakhstan): a progress in implementing the Minsk agreements, including a ceasefire, the implementation of humanitarian aid and the release of detainees. The foreign ministers are going to continue the meeting next week. The meeting in Astana is postponed for several weeks since there was no agreement on a large number of articles of the agreement.

Trends

• The head of the faction "Batkivschina" Tymoshenko spoke out about the falsification of the law on the budget and changes to the tax and budget codes, which do not correspond to the text voted for in the parliamentary hall. In addition, the deputies voted in violation of the rules, not seeing the full text of the document.
• The public noted the fact that the procedure, introduced for crossing corridors, did not stop the illegal movement of goods and coal, but has created huge problems for displaced persons who want to get to the places of previous residence. In essence, the decisions are contrary to the Constitution of Ukraine and restrict the rights of citizens while a state of war was never introduced.
• Experts believe that the "decentralization", which President Poroshenko pushes, contradicts the widening of powers of territorial communities, transferring the main expenses for the maintenance of the region to the communities, while taking the most significant source of revenue to the center.
• President Poroshenko did not introduce to the Parliament a law abolishing the "special status" of Donbas, as he announced before the parliamentary elections based on the decision of the NSDC. According to experts, the provision of the special economic status will turn Donbass into a "black hole" for the budget and an analogue of Abkhazia.