YALTA, Ukraine -- Ukraine will push for reforms that would allow it to join the European Union, but will also develop cooperation with other world powers, including Russia and the United States, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said on Friday.
Ukraine has no alternative for the European choice, but since the EU is not ready even to discuss the Ukrainian membership, we will choose the pace, forms and methods of integration by ourselves, in accordance with our national interests," Yanukovych told participants in a forum of the Yalta European Strategy (YES) organization promoting Ukraine's integration with Europe.
"Integration should stimulate the development of the national economy. We will continue maintaining active cooperation with other international political and economic centers," he said.
The development of economic links with Russia, especially in the aircraft construction and energy spheres, maintains one of the main planks of Ukrainian foreign policy, the president said.
"We are returning again to cooperation and strategic partnership," he said.
Relations between Russia and Ukraine sunk to post-Soviet lows during the presidency of Yanukovych's pro-western predecessor Viktor Yushchenko, but ties have improved significantly since Yanukovych's election in February.
Ukraine also intends to develop its ties with the United States and developing countries, Yanukovych said.
"We are planning to raise relations with China, India and South Korea to a strategic level," he said.
Saturday, 2 October 2010
Ukraine Court Overturns Measures Limiting Presidential Powers
KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine’s highest court ruled that parliament violated the constitution during the Orange Revolution in 2004 by approving measures limiting the power of the president.
The decision automatically restores the president’s ability to choose the prime minister and Cabinet, increasing the power of Viktor Yanukovych who was elected this year, said Anatoliy Holovin, who heads the Constitutional Court in Kiev.
Lawmakers passed the amendments in December 2004 under pressure from then-President Leonid Kuchma, who sought to limit the powers of Orange Revolution leader Viktor Yushchenko if he became president.
Millions had poured into the streets after Yanukovych, Kuchma’s chosen successor, defeated Yushchenko in an election the Supreme Court later annulled because of fraud.
Kuchma refused to approve changes to the electoral law to prevent fraud during a re-run of the contest unless lawmakers rescinded the president’s right to choose the prime minister and Cabinet. At the time, Kuchma’s allies controlled parliament.
About 252 members of the 450-seat parliament supported the appeal, saying the amendments were unconstitutional because lawmakers didn’t have the Court’s agreement before approving the changes, the Constitutional Court said on its website.
Under those amendments, which took effect in 2006, the president is mainly in charge of foreign policy and appoints the defense and foreign ministers.
Yuschenko eventually won the 2004 contest and served as president until February this year, when Yanukovych unseated him. Yanukovych has the support of 264 members of parliament.
The Constitutional Court consists of 18 judges, with the president, parliament and Congress of Judges each appointing six members of the court for nine-year terms.
Four justices were forced to resign between Sept. 2 and Sept. 9, according to the court’s website. The Congress of Judges replaced them on Sept. 21, the court said in a statement.
“There was political pressure and an attempt to control the court through the replacement of judges, which undermined trust,” said Yuriy Yakymenko, an analyst at the Razumkov Center for Economic and Political Studies in Kiev.
The decision automatically restores the president’s ability to choose the prime minister and Cabinet, increasing the power of Viktor Yanukovych who was elected this year, said Anatoliy Holovin, who heads the Constitutional Court in Kiev.
Lawmakers passed the amendments in December 2004 under pressure from then-President Leonid Kuchma, who sought to limit the powers of Orange Revolution leader Viktor Yushchenko if he became president.
Millions had poured into the streets after Yanukovych, Kuchma’s chosen successor, defeated Yushchenko in an election the Supreme Court later annulled because of fraud.
Kuchma refused to approve changes to the electoral law to prevent fraud during a re-run of the contest unless lawmakers rescinded the president’s right to choose the prime minister and Cabinet. At the time, Kuchma’s allies controlled parliament.
About 252 members of the 450-seat parliament supported the appeal, saying the amendments were unconstitutional because lawmakers didn’t have the Court’s agreement before approving the changes, the Constitutional Court said on its website.
Under those amendments, which took effect in 2006, the president is mainly in charge of foreign policy and appoints the defense and foreign ministers.
Yuschenko eventually won the 2004 contest and served as president until February this year, when Yanukovych unseated him. Yanukovych has the support of 264 members of parliament.
The Constitutional Court consists of 18 judges, with the president, parliament and Congress of Judges each appointing six members of the court for nine-year terms.
Four justices were forced to resign between Sept. 2 and Sept. 9, according to the court’s website. The Congress of Judges replaced them on Sept. 21, the court said in a statement.
“There was political pressure and an attempt to control the court through the replacement of judges, which undermined trust,” said Yuriy Yakymenko, an analyst at the Razumkov Center for Economic and Political Studies in Kiev.
About 40,000 Ukrainian Police Officers To Learn English Ahead Of Euro 2012
KIEV, Ukraine -- About 40,000 Ukrainian police officers will learn English as part their preparations for maintaining public order during the Euro 2012 European Football Championship, Ukrainian Deputy Interior Minister Viktor Ratushniak has said.
He said at a briefing in Kyiv on Thursday that more than 26,000 police officers would learn English at civilian educational institutions, while another 12,000 would study at police institutes and universities.
"Some 38,000-40,000 police officers will have knowledge of spoken English," Ratushniak said.
He noted that this number of police officers would be involved in ensuring public order in Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv and Donetsk during the Euro 2012 football championship.
Ratushniak added that it would also be necessary to increase the number of police officers in these cities and introduce round-the-clock patrols.
He also noted the need to install CCTV cameras in Euro 2012 host cities and take other measures required to organize the finals of the European football championship.
Ratushniak noted that around Hr 300 million ($38 million) was envisaged for this government program.
Speaking about the work of Ukrainian police officers in their preparations for Euro 2012, he said that Ukrainian law enforcers had been fruitfully cooperating with their colleagues from Poland.
"We have held serious talks with Poland. They gave us their draft programs," Ratushniak said.
He said at a briefing in Kyiv on Thursday that more than 26,000 police officers would learn English at civilian educational institutions, while another 12,000 would study at police institutes and universities.
"Some 38,000-40,000 police officers will have knowledge of spoken English," Ratushniak said.
He noted that this number of police officers would be involved in ensuring public order in Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv and Donetsk during the Euro 2012 football championship.
Ratushniak added that it would also be necessary to increase the number of police officers in these cities and introduce round-the-clock patrols.
He also noted the need to install CCTV cameras in Euro 2012 host cities and take other measures required to organize the finals of the European football championship.
Ratushniak noted that around Hr 300 million ($38 million) was envisaged for this government program.
Speaking about the work of Ukrainian police officers in their preparations for Euro 2012, he said that Ukrainian law enforcers had been fruitfully cooperating with their colleagues from Poland.
"We have held serious talks with Poland. They gave us their draft programs," Ratushniak said.
Ukraine Court To Rule On Wider Presidential Powers
KIEV, Ukraine -- A top court in Ukraine will on Friday hand down a ruling that could give President Viktor Yanukovich wider powers, enabling him to name his own government and tighten his grip on the country.
Since Yanukovich came to power in February, his allies have pressed for him to recover presidential powers, lost in 2004 constitutional reforms, on the grounds this will enable him to push through reform in the ex-Soviet republic of 47 million.
They have now asked the Constitutional Court's 18 judges to rule that there were irregularities in a 2004 law which was brought in during the upheaval of the Orange Revolution street protests.
The law shifted some presidential powers to parliament, chiefly the right to name the prime minister and most cabinet members, and frustrated the pro-Western Viktor Yushchenko in his five years in office which ended earlier this year.
If the court rules in favour of the proposal, Yanukovich, who has quickly consolidated power since taking over from Yushchenko, will rule in a presidential system like that of many other former Soviet republics, including Russia.
The Constitutional Court said on Thursday it had reached its decision and would announce it on Friday in a session starting at 10 a.m.
Since Yanukovich came to power in February, his allies have pressed for him to recover presidential powers, lost in 2004 constitutional reforms, on the grounds this will enable him to push through reform in the ex-Soviet republic of 47 million.
They have now asked the Constitutional Court's 18 judges to rule that there were irregularities in a 2004 law which was brought in during the upheaval of the Orange Revolution street protests.
The law shifted some presidential powers to parliament, chiefly the right to name the prime minister and most cabinet members, and frustrated the pro-Western Viktor Yushchenko in his five years in office which ended earlier this year.
If the court rules in favour of the proposal, Yanukovich, who has quickly consolidated power since taking over from Yushchenko, will rule in a presidential system like that of many other former Soviet republics, including Russia.
The Constitutional Court said on Thursday it had reached its decision and would announce it on Friday in a session starting at 10 a.m.
Euro 2012 On Track, Say Poland And Ukraine
WARSAW, Poland -- Preparations for Euro 2012 are right on schedule, tournament co-hosts Poland and Ukraine said on Thursday.
"Taking full responsibility, we can say that everything is going according to UEFA's plans, and that the matches will take place in eight cities, four in Poland and four in Ukraine," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said during a visit by his Ukrainian opposite number Mykola Azarov.
"We can congratulate each other, with a clear conscience," he told reporters.
The two leaders said that they had approved a road map for the remaining preparations for the European football championships, which are set to kick off in Poland's brand new national stadium in Warsaw in June 8, 2012
In April 2007, European football's governing body UEFA caught the pundits napping when it picked Poland and Ukraine over favourites Italy and joint bidders Hungary and Croatia to host the 16-team quadrennial showcase.
It will be the first time either has run a major tournament and marks UEFA's first serious foray behind the former Iron Curtain.
That means a far greater challenge on the infrastructure front than previous, western European editions of the tournament, last held in 2008 in Alpine-efficient Austria and Switzerland.
Amid concerns about the ability of the hosts, particularly Ukraine, to make the grade in time, UEFA chief Michel Platini cranked up the pressure and issued a string of ultimatums.
But the tone has now changed.
"I think things are progressing in the right direction," Martin Kallen, UEFA's Euro watchdog, told AFP last month.
"The decision was made in 2007 to go for Ukraine and Poland, and since then, UEFA has been pushing very hard," he said. "But this will be a fantastic tournament."
"Taking full responsibility, we can say that everything is going according to UEFA's plans, and that the matches will take place in eight cities, four in Poland and four in Ukraine," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said during a visit by his Ukrainian opposite number Mykola Azarov.
"We can congratulate each other, with a clear conscience," he told reporters.
The two leaders said that they had approved a road map for the remaining preparations for the European football championships, which are set to kick off in Poland's brand new national stadium in Warsaw in June 8, 2012
In April 2007, European football's governing body UEFA caught the pundits napping when it picked Poland and Ukraine over favourites Italy and joint bidders Hungary and Croatia to host the 16-team quadrennial showcase.
It will be the first time either has run a major tournament and marks UEFA's first serious foray behind the former Iron Curtain.
That means a far greater challenge on the infrastructure front than previous, western European editions of the tournament, last held in 2008 in Alpine-efficient Austria and Switzerland.
Amid concerns about the ability of the hosts, particularly Ukraine, to make the grade in time, UEFA chief Michel Platini cranked up the pressure and issued a string of ultimatums.
But the tone has now changed.
"I think things are progressing in the right direction," Martin Kallen, UEFA's Euro watchdog, told AFP last month.
"The decision was made in 2007 to go for Ukraine and Poland, and since then, UEFA has been pushing very hard," he said. "But this will be a fantastic tournament."
Ukraine's Generous Pension System Close To Collapse
KIEV, Ukraine -- Those who think the French pension system is bloated should take a look at Ukraine, a nation which has not only preserved but enhanced generous Soviet retirement benefits -- which now threaten to bankrupt it.
Street protests might come easier to the French than they do to the Ukrainians. But the government of President Viktor Yanukovich, who is being urged to raise the retirement age to 65years for men and women, is still wary of a possible backlash.
Relatively small on an individual basis -- about $140 a month on average -- total pension expenditure is a big burden on the ex-Soviet republic's budget, making up 18 percent of gross domestic product in 2009, one of the highest rates in Europe.
Ukraine's aging population means the system's financing needs will only increase unless it is changed. There are already nine pensioners for every 10 working people paying into the pension fund in Ukraine -- and this ratio is set to get worse.
"No system can withstand those demographic trends," said Marcin Swiecicki, director of EU-sponsored think tank Blue Ribbon Analytical and Advisory Centre. "This would be a financial catastrophe."
The World Bank said in a report this month that fiscal reform, which includes an overhaul of the system, was "the most urgent priority" for Ukraine.
"The unreformed pension system and Ukraine's aging population threaten short-term fiscal stability (with growing deficits that are becoming unfinanceable) and long-term sustainability," it said.
Ukraine was taxing payrolls at 35 percent in order to finance pensions -- "one of the highest rates in the world",Swiecicki said.
But even that is not enough. Without reforms, by 2050,Ukraine will have to reduce its average pension to 28 percent o fthe average wage from the current 40 percent.
And if it wants to keep pensions at the same level, the nation will have to raise the retirement age to 65 years for both men and women. Under the current rules, Ukrainian men can retire at 60 while women retire at 55.
"Ukrainian women hold the world record in correlation between the length of retirement and the work period needed to obtain a pension: 7.1 years of staying retired for every 10 years of work," Swiecicki said.
That compares to 6.2 years in Italy and just 4.6 years in Germany, according to Blue Ribbon data.
Opponents of change say earlier retirement in Ukraine is justified by the fact that life expectancy at birth in Ukraine is 7.8 years shorter than in the EU for women and 13.3 years shorter for men.
Among other worries are the disparity between pensions indifferent sectors -- miners and military officers, for example,enjoy much higher benefits than an average pensioner -- and the fact that only 75 percent of workers pay pension contributions.
In his long-term reform programme announced this year,President Viktor Yanukovich promised to radically change the pension system by switching to an accumulative system used in countries like Chile and ex-Soviet peers Russia and Kazakhstan.
But the government has so far committed only to gradually raising women's retirement age to 60, as spellt out by its $15 billion deal with the International Monetary Fund made in July.
It also plans to reduce early retirement benefits and increase the qualification period for full benefits by 10 years.
"This is not a complete solution but it represents a significant step forward," said Blue Ribbon's Swiecicki.
The plans have not been clearly articulated at home. The Yanukovich government has prudently shelved discussion of the issue until after the October 31 regional elections so as not to damage his Regions Party's prospects at the poll.
However, signaling that even modest reform plans could be reviewed, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Tigipko said this month the government would try to avoid retirement age adjustments --a policy that could displease the IMF.
"If we find ways to compensate (growing pension expenditures) without raising the retirement age, we will not raise it," Tigipko told reporters.
"If we don't find ways to compensate we must stimulate people to continue working -- by enabling them to earn more for working every additional year and so on."
Carrying out pension reform in a slowly growing economy was"a big risk", he added.
Street protests might come easier to the French than they do to the Ukrainians. But the government of President Viktor Yanukovich, who is being urged to raise the retirement age to 65years for men and women, is still wary of a possible backlash.
Relatively small on an individual basis -- about $140 a month on average -- total pension expenditure is a big burden on the ex-Soviet republic's budget, making up 18 percent of gross domestic product in 2009, one of the highest rates in Europe.
Ukraine's aging population means the system's financing needs will only increase unless it is changed. There are already nine pensioners for every 10 working people paying into the pension fund in Ukraine -- and this ratio is set to get worse.
"No system can withstand those demographic trends," said Marcin Swiecicki, director of EU-sponsored think tank Blue Ribbon Analytical and Advisory Centre. "This would be a financial catastrophe."
The World Bank said in a report this month that fiscal reform, which includes an overhaul of the system, was "the most urgent priority" for Ukraine.
"The unreformed pension system and Ukraine's aging population threaten short-term fiscal stability (with growing deficits that are becoming unfinanceable) and long-term sustainability," it said.
Ukraine was taxing payrolls at 35 percent in order to finance pensions -- "one of the highest rates in the world",Swiecicki said.
But even that is not enough. Without reforms, by 2050,Ukraine will have to reduce its average pension to 28 percent o fthe average wage from the current 40 percent.
And if it wants to keep pensions at the same level, the nation will have to raise the retirement age to 65 years for both men and women. Under the current rules, Ukrainian men can retire at 60 while women retire at 55.
"Ukrainian women hold the world record in correlation between the length of retirement and the work period needed to obtain a pension: 7.1 years of staying retired for every 10 years of work," Swiecicki said.
That compares to 6.2 years in Italy and just 4.6 years in Germany, according to Blue Ribbon data.
Opponents of change say earlier retirement in Ukraine is justified by the fact that life expectancy at birth in Ukraine is 7.8 years shorter than in the EU for women and 13.3 years shorter for men.
Among other worries are the disparity between pensions indifferent sectors -- miners and military officers, for example,enjoy much higher benefits than an average pensioner -- and the fact that only 75 percent of workers pay pension contributions.
In his long-term reform programme announced this year,President Viktor Yanukovich promised to radically change the pension system by switching to an accumulative system used in countries like Chile and ex-Soviet peers Russia and Kazakhstan.
But the government has so far committed only to gradually raising women's retirement age to 60, as spellt out by its $15 billion deal with the International Monetary Fund made in July.
It also plans to reduce early retirement benefits and increase the qualification period for full benefits by 10 years.
"This is not a complete solution but it represents a significant step forward," said Blue Ribbon's Swiecicki.
The plans have not been clearly articulated at home. The Yanukovich government has prudently shelved discussion of the issue until after the October 31 regional elections so as not to damage his Regions Party's prospects at the poll.
However, signaling that even modest reform plans could be reviewed, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Tigipko said this month the government would try to avoid retirement age adjustments --a policy that could displease the IMF.
"If we find ways to compensate (growing pension expenditures) without raising the retirement age, we will not raise it," Tigipko told reporters.
"If we don't find ways to compensate we must stimulate people to continue working -- by enabling them to earn more for working every additional year and so on."
Carrying out pension reform in a slowly growing economy was"a big risk", he added.
Ukraine To Cut Gas Purchase From Russia
KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine will buy 41 billion cubic meters of gas from Russia in 2011 instead of the contracted 55 billion, the Kommersant-Ukraina newspaper said on Thursday.
"We have for all intents and purposes agreed to lower the volume to be purchased," a source in the Russian energy giant Gazprom told the paper, adding however that the corresponding documents were still to be signed.
The paper quoted Ukrainian Energy Ministry officials as saying that Ukraine's record gas reserves of 27 billion cubic meters had made the government seek to cut gas purchases. The country only needs 20 to 22 billion cubic meters of gas a year, Kommersant-Ukraina said.
Ukraine's national energy company Naftogaz receives a 30-percent discount for Russian gas in exchange for the Ukrainian government's agreement to extend the lease on a Russian naval base in the Crimea until at least 2042, which was reached in April.
The Stockholm Arbitration Tribunal ruled in June that Ukraine's national energy company Naftogaz owes its former gas supply intermediary, Swiss-registered RosUkrEnergo, 11 billion cubic meters of gas, which the trader says was illegally confiscated in January 2009, as well as fines of 1.1 billion cubic meters.
Naftogaz challenged the verdict, but the Kiev Appeals Court rejected the claim. The energy company now wants to appeal against the decision at the Ukrainian Supreme Court.
"We have for all intents and purposes agreed to lower the volume to be purchased," a source in the Russian energy giant Gazprom told the paper, adding however that the corresponding documents were still to be signed.
The paper quoted Ukrainian Energy Ministry officials as saying that Ukraine's record gas reserves of 27 billion cubic meters had made the government seek to cut gas purchases. The country only needs 20 to 22 billion cubic meters of gas a year, Kommersant-Ukraina said.
Ukraine's national energy company Naftogaz receives a 30-percent discount for Russian gas in exchange for the Ukrainian government's agreement to extend the lease on a Russian naval base in the Crimea until at least 2042, which was reached in April.
The Stockholm Arbitration Tribunal ruled in June that Ukraine's national energy company Naftogaz owes its former gas supply intermediary, Swiss-registered RosUkrEnergo, 11 billion cubic meters of gas, which the trader says was illegally confiscated in January 2009, as well as fines of 1.1 billion cubic meters.
Naftogaz challenged the verdict, but the Kiev Appeals Court rejected the claim. The energy company now wants to appeal against the decision at the Ukrainian Supreme Court.
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