Three groups get credit for pushing through pro-democratic reforms last year, according to Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, advocacy expert at civic group Reanimation Package of Reforms. They are pro-reform officials, Western governments, and advocacy groups.
Much remains to be done to make government more accountable, open and graft-free. Required measures include stripping lawmakers and certain judges of prosecutorial immunity, changing the election system, and selling off more than 1,500 state-owned enterprises. Changes to the Constitution could also happen this year.
The following are highlights of the successes and failures:
Key successes:
Free trade zone with European Union
As of Jan. 1, customs duties were removed on most imports and exports of Ukrainian and EU products.
Elimination of electric car duty
Government cancelled customs duties on electric cars.
Identification card
Instead of passports, Ukrainians who are 16 or older will receive an identification card with biometric data, something all Ukrainians will get by 2019.
The card will digitally store such information as a driver’s license, medical insurance, subsidy and pension information. “It will be easy to renew a card if it is lost,” Yurchyshyn said.
Public procurement through ProZorro
All state purchases will shift to the online platform ProZorro, which was launched in February. The public will be able to monitor all state procurement tenders, excluding secret military orders. According to Deputy Economy Minister Maxym Nefyodov, this will increase transparency and reduce corruption, while saving $200 million in taxpayers’ money in 2016.
Civil service
Future civil servants will be appointed competitively. Moreover, all ministers, their deputies, the prime minister, president, and lawmakers are no longer classified as civil servants as of Jan. 1. The law also doesn’t allow civil servants to belong to a political party and limits the length of service of high-ranking civil servants.
Decentralization
More functions and power were delegated to local and regional governments. The reforms also pave the way for local businesses to get registered locally.
Audits of political parties
Applying for state funding, a political party will be forced to report its property, number of employees, salaries and expenditures on public events, etc. Parties will also have to submit to international audits.
Police expansion
This year, the national police, which was formed in July in Kyiv, will be present in all big cities and even in the Donbas, including the cities of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, and Mariupol.
Traffic fines
A flexible system of fines for violating traffic rules will be introduced on Jan. 16. Those who pay for minor violations within 20 days will be granted a 50-percent discount. If the fine is not paid within a month, the amount doubles. Citizens may also pay a fine to the police officer issuing the ticket.
Recognition of labor migrants
For the first time, the Ukrainian parliament recognized the existence of migrant workers abroad, their rights, and guaranteed commitments to them and their families.
Transparent media
The law on media privatization aims to remove state and local councils as media owners. According to the media group at Reanimation Package of Reforms, approximately 550 newspapers remain under government control. Their privatization has to be finished by the end of 2017. Also, the owners of media are required to reveal their names.
Pension limit
Pensions will be capped at Hr 10,740. “The subsistence minimum level will continue to grow, so we suppose that pension level should not exceed reasonable limits,” Social Policy Minister Pavlo Rozenko said.
Key failures:
Electoral system
Ukrainians were deprived of the opportunity to vote for specific candidates, and instead must vote for party lists in future elections.
Judicial reform
Few of the nation’s 10,000 judges were fired or replaced.
Immunity
Lawmakers and certain judges still enjoy prosecutorial immunity. “Lawmakers have to have immunity for their political positions,” Yurchyshyn said, but not their crimes.
Privatization
State-owned businesses are often used for corrupt schemes and are often unprofitable, costing the state money. Many want them sold through transparent and competitive auctions.
Visa-free travel
The possibility to travel to European Union without needing a visa is at risk after lawmakers snuck a provision into the 2016 budget law to delay electronic public declarations of assets.
Combating corruption
The National Agency for Prevention of Corruption, expected to be formed in 2015, is still not staffed and working.
Prosecutorial reform
Attempts to reform the Prosecutor General’s Office failed, Yurchyshyn said. He noted that among the newly appointed chiefs of regional bureaus, 83 percent were previously prosecutorial heads. The remaining 17 percent came from lower management positions. “No one outside the system was appointed there,” Yurchyshyn said.
