11/06/2015 Ukraine: Daily Highlights - Meeting of the foreign ministers of the “Normandy Four" was held in Berlin

Meeting of the foreign ministers of the “Normandy Four" was held in Berlin

11.06.2015 Daily Highlights by the Digests & Analytics Ukraine Agency

Topics from Media and Social Networks

• Meeting of the foreign ministers of the “Normandy Four" was held in Berlin.
• Finance Minister Yaresko said that the draft budget will be submitted to the Parliament following consultations with the IMF.
• Former Justice Minister Lukash was released on bail by Pechersk district court of Kyiv.

Key Events n Ukraine

• President Poroshenko presented the concept of judicial reform at a meeting with the students of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. He stated that the planned changes to the Constitution will deprive judges of their immunity.
• Central Election Commission hopes that on November 11 the Verkhovna Rada will make a decision on holding elections in Mariupol.
• President Poroshenko confirmed that Moskal will keep the post of the Head of Transcarpathian Regional State Administration.
• Ukrnafta was fined UAH90 million for the late payment of dividends to the state for 2014 in the amount of UAH632 million. The company also owes UAH 1.8 billion to the budget for 2011-2013 .
• Energy Minister Demchyshyn announced that Ukraine can survive the coming winter season without purchasing the Russian gas.
• Pechersk district court of Kyiv released on UAH5 million bail former Justice Minister Lukash. The bail was posted by MP Novinsky, one of the deputies who took part in voting for Yanukovych’s "dictator laws." Prosecutor General's Office said that in addition to the case involving the embezzlement of public funds, Lukash is also accused in connection with the criminal organization of the former President Yanukovych.
• Finance Minister Yaresko said that the draft budget for 2016 will be submitted to the Verkhovna Rada after it is agreed with the IMF. According to her, the draft budget will be based on the new tax code developed by her ministry.
• According to the National Bank, about UAH300 billion are currently in circulation, with monetary stock comprised mostly of 100 and 200 hryvnia banknotes.
• NBU raised again the official rate of hryvnia: 23.65 ₴/$ (-0.28 UAH), 24.61 ₴/€ (-0.34 UAH), 3.56 ₴/10 ₽ (0.05 UAH) .

Kyiv

• Kyiv authorities for the second year in a row refuse to organize the New Year festivities on Maidan.

Ukraine at War

• The situation in the conflict area in Donbas remains unstable. The militants keep shelling the positions of the Ukrainian army from small arms and anti-aircraft installations and are drawing heavy equipment closer to the front line. The fighting continues in the area near Donetsk: in Krasnohorivka, Maryinka, Avdiyivka, and Pisky. According to intelligence reports, the local militants’ groups are being gradually reshaped, with combat-ready units joining the Russian forces and being transferred to the line of contact. Some fighters have for Syria as mercenaries. At military bases, regular exercises are held and the damaged equipment is repaired. The number of people carrying guns in the streets has decreased significantly, some local militants not controlled by the Russian command were imprisoned. All units in the occupied territory are being transferred under the centralized command. There is still no central headquarters of the occupation forces, as various Russian law enforcement agencies are trying to gain full control over the processes in Donbas.
• The Anti-Terrorist Operation headquarters reported on the completion of the light artillery withdrawal by the Ukrainian army from Mariupol area.
• Demobilization of the servicemen of the fourth wave of limited mobilization is scheduled for February 2016.

Ukraine and the World

• Meeting of the foreign ministers of the "Normandy Four" dedicated to the settlement of the conflict in Donbas was held in Berlin. The main issue was the local elections in the occupied territory. Other issues discussed inluded demilitarization, mine clearing before the cold weather and increased presence of OSCE observers. Based on the results of the summit, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said that Minsk agreements should be prolonged, since the Ukrainian side needs time to develop the law on local elections, and preparations for the elections in the occupied territories will take several months. German Foreign Minister Steinmeier said he was satisfied with the results of the meeting.
• The European Commission will check the project of the second tranche of the Russian "Nord Stream" pipeline for its compliance with the EU energy policy and the competition protection law. Eastern European countries and the US ambassador to the EU strongly object against the construction.
• According to Latvian president Vejonis, Eastern Partnership project will help maintaining the stability of EU eastern neighbors, which will ultimately be the key to success of the European Union itself.
• Meeting of the IMF Board of Directors dedicated to loan modifications is scheduled for November 23. This concerns, in particular, the situation in Ukraine, to which the IMF is ready to provide a loan despite its outstanding debt to one of its creditors, Russia.

The Trends

• The management of the General Prosecutor's Office resists changes in the agency and sabotages them in every possible way. Under the pressure from the international community, the Prosecutor General was forced to change the composition of the tender committee for the selection of candidates for the anti-corruption prosecutor's office. The media have expressed doubts about the results of the selection of district prosecutors because the final report have signatures of the unavailable commission members.
• Observers have noted the attempts of an information attack against Ukraine's largest bank, Privatbank. The attack is carried out through media, social networks and small customers who are sent text messages about the bank’s instability and the possibility of receivership. Earlier, there was an attempt to register in Parliament a bill to nationalize the Privatbank. The Bank’s management and the Deposit Guarantee Fund deny any speculations about the financial insolvency of the bank. According to many experts and analysts, this pressure is not coming from the competitors, but is related to the political struggle of oligarch Kolomoisky with President Poroshenko and his team who want to gain control over his large attractive assets.
• According to the statement made by Minister of Finance Yaresko, the new Tax Code developed by the expert community and the parliamentary committee cannot be adopted. Next year's budget will be based on the tax reform currentlhy developed by the Ministry of Finance. International financial institutions say that the alternative version of reforms would knock a hole in the budget and strongly object to such approach. Experts believe the chances for adoption of the Tax Code as amended by the Parliament to be low. In case of a positive vote, it is likely to be vetoed by the president.