01/04/2016 Ukraine: Daily Highlights - Visa-free regime with the EU is at risk for Ukraine due to changes in the text of the Budget Law

Visa-free regime with the EU is at risk for Ukraine due to changes in the text of the Budget Law

04.01.2015 Daily Highlights by the Digests & Analytics Ukraine

Topics from Media and Social Networks

• Visa-free regime with the EU is at risk for Ukraine due to changes in the text of the Budget Law.
• Interior Minister Arsen Avakov offered to dismiss all the judges and recruit new ones on a competitive basis.
• "Appeal of the Genichesk Mayor to Russian President Putin".
• The Head of the Russian GRU (General Staff Intelligence Agency)  suddenly died in Russia.

Key Events n Ukraine

• Member of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption, MP Chumak claimed that after the voting a clause appeared in the text of the budget, which postpones  for one year the introduction of the financial control system, which is a necessary condition for granting Ukraine a visa-free regime with the EU. Deputies of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc and the Popular Front  factions claim that in the nearest time  this clause will be excluded.
• The Ministry of Justice launched  in Kiev a pilot project for the issuing of the birth certificates in the maternity wards.
• Head of Naftogaz Kobolev said that since the beginning of the year Gazprom has not yet made the new price proposals for the 1st quarter.
• The National Bank simplified the procedure for inter-bank transfers in hryvnya.
• There was no currency trading on the interbank market, so the hryvnya exchange rate remained at the previous level: 24,00 ₴ / $, 26,22 ₴ / €, 3,29 ₴ / 10 ₽.

Ukraine at War

• Due to the cold weather relative inactivity is observed in the combat zone in the Donbass, except for the provocative shellings in Maryinka, near Donetsk airport, Svetlodarsk and Shyrokine. According to official reports, there were no losses among the soldiers. Ukrainian Army was allowed to open a return accurate fire to supress the militants firing points in the case of a direct threat to the life and health of personnel and residents near the demarcation line.

Ukraine and the World

• Chief of the Russian GRU (General Staff Intelligence Agency) Sergun, appointed to the post in 2011, died in Russia.
• Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations Elchenko invited an assessment mission of the organization to visit the Donbass and study the possibility of deployment of the peacekeeping forces.
• Gazprom announced the termination of the purchase of Turkmen natural gas from January 1, 2016 in connection with the changed market situation.
• Belarusian Foreign Ministry stated that the country expects a full lifting of sanctions by the EU and the United States and intends to sign a new economic agreement the European Union .

The Trends

• The Russian media are spreading the information about the alleged "appeal" of the Genichesk Mayor to Russian President Putin with a request to connect the city to the natural gas supply. The natural gas was stored in the Crimean storage facilities, and in winter was used in the reverse mode for heating. After the cessation of the electricity supplying to the peninsula, the natural gas delivery to Ukraine stopped. To solve this problem, the construction of a new pipeline and transfer of the city to alternative sources of heating are required.