Editor’s Note: The Kyiv Post will be tracking the progress made by Ukraine’s new, post-EuroMaidan Revolution leaders in making deep structural changes in the national interest. The Reform Watch project is supported by the International Renaissance Foundation. Content is independent of the financial donor.
1. Security & Defense
On Dec.16 Oleksandr Turchynov, a member of parliament from Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk People’s Front Party, was appointed secretary of the National Defense and Security Council. Turchynov was interim president when Russia invaded and annexed Crimea and launched its war in eastern Ukraine. He says creation of 100,000-member military reserve force is a priority. He said Ukrainians should expect two new waves of mobilization soon. But most importantly, he said Ukraine needs a new military doctrine.
2. Energy
Ukraine has made some practical steps towards greater energy independence from Russia this week, as well as boost European energy security. On Dec. 17 Ukraine and Poland signed an agreement to construct a 110 kilometer-long gas interconnector from Drozdowichi station at the Polish border to Bilche-Volytsia in Lviv. It will allow for transit of 8 billion cubic meters of gas per year from Poland to Ukraine and 7 billion cubic meters from Ukraine towards Poland. On Dec.15, Ukraine signed a contract with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for a 150 million euro loan for modernization of Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod gas pipeline, a key part of nation’s gas transportation system. The loan came two weeks after the country signed another 150 million euro deal for reconstruction of the pipeline with the European Investment Bank.
Moreover, Ukraine announced this week that it has reached a deal with the French company Areva to extract uranium and eventually start making nuclear fuel domestically. Also, Ukraine plans to denounce its intergovernmental agreement with Russia to build two new reactors at the Khmelnitskiy nuclear power plant, Energoatom president Yuriy Nedashkovsky said on Dec. 16. Ukraine gets half of its electric energy from nuclear reactors, and is highly dependent on Russia for fuel to power them.
3. Rule of law
Ukraine’s Justice Ministry announced that it will open access to the real estate registry as of Jan. 1. This will – in theory – allow access to the full history and ownership of all real estate objects in Ukraine to a wide audience.
Meanwhile, the law on creation of the Anticorruption Bureau, which will have the power to investigate crimes committed by senior public officials, comes into force on Jan. 25. But the bureau has no staff, budget or leader. President Petro Poroshenko said he would like to see a foreigner at the helm .
Also, Ukraine’s long-suffering business got a new ombudsman to protect its rights and lobby its interests within the Cabinet. On Dec.11, Lithuanian Algirdas Semeta, the former European Commissioner for Taxation, Statistics, Audit and Anti-Fraud, was appointed as business ombudsman.
4. Public Administration
The launch of the pilot project on electronic procurement was postponed for a week due to delay with software development. The project was supposed to kick off on Dec. 15 and make some types of public spending more transparent.
Meanwhile, the state railway monopoly Ukrzaliznytsia made a step towards transition to a public company, needed to attract more foreign investment. It will have its assets audited in 2015. On Dec.16, global auditor Delloitte was chosen to conduct the audit for $937,500 (Hr 15 million) after a public tender.
5. Land
The State Agency for Land Resources, which is in charge of land management issues in Ukraine, is holding an open roundtable discussion in Kyiv on Dec. 19 to discuss all land-related issues that should be on the government’s agenda in 2015. The even will be held at 11 a.m., 3 Narodnoho Opolchennya Street, 6th floor. More information can be received by calling +380-244-82-53.
