MPs with a minimum majority voted for amendments to the Regulations, according to which it is possible to change the Constitution at any subsequent session after the first reading. President Poroshenko immediately signed the amendments.
The Verkhovna Rada sent to the Constitutional Court changes to the Constitution in terms of judicial reform, which leave with the Parliament a possibility to express the distrust to the General Prosecutor.
A law, making it easier to obtain Ukrainian citizenship for foreigners serving in the Armed forces, was adopted. Now to obtain the citizenship they do not need to previously get the permission to immigrate.
The Verkhovna Rada terminated the deputy powers of newly elected mayor of Chernihiv Atroshenko. It also agreed to detention and arrest of former deputy Sergei Klyuyev, who is accused of very serious crimes.
Head of the presidential administration Lozhkyn said that out of 3,000 state-owned companies only about 1600 are working. In recent years, the majority of them have been a source of corruption. He believes that no more than 250 enterprises should remain in state ownership , the rest of them should be sold over the next few years. Head of the State Property Fund Bilous said that the Odessa port plant may be put up for sale in April.
Energy Minister Demchishin said that Russia will pay for the natural gas transit under the old rates, until a new agreement is signed.
The National Bank worsened the forecast for the GDP growth in 2016 from 2.4 to 1.1% due to the deteriorating global economic prospects, new restrictions on trade with Russia and ban on transit through its territory. Ministry of Economic Development announced about the revision of key macroeconomic figures for 2016, but the index of inflation will remain the same, 12%.
The official exchange rate of hryvnia sharply decreased again: 25.15 ₴/$ (+0.28 UAH), 27.42 ₴/€ (+0.34 UAH), 3.25 ₴/10 ₽ (+0.10 UAH). Head of the National Bank Gontareva explained the depreciation of the hryvnia rate by drop in prices on commodity exchanges, increase in interest rates by the Federal Reserve System of the USA and the imbalance between supply and demand during the holidays. To mitigate it, the National Bank sold at auction $ 118 million.
The deputies of the Verkhovna Rada adopted an amendment to the regulations, directly contrary to the text of the Constitution, which is essentially a constitutional coup. According to Deputy Head of the Parliament Syroyid and "Samopomitch" faction, the Head of the Parliament and the deputies, controlled by the President, conspiring with the Opposition Bloc, used a scam in the process of amending the Constitution, effectively substituting its provisions.
The Court of the European Union lifted the sanctions against the officials of the regime of Yanukovych. Despite the statements by officials of the General Prosecutor's Office that the sanctions lifted were in force in 2014-2015, and the new sanctions remain in effect until March 2016, the image of the country suffered a serious damage. The EU can completely lift the sanctions in spring because of insufficient reasoning provided by the Ukrainian authorities. Some experts believe that the actions of the General Prosecutor and the courts are the result of collusion of the Ukrainian authorities with those responsible for the persecution and shooting of the activists of the Maidan.
Deputy head of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc in the Verkhovna Rada Kononenko said that the President does not support the idea of the early Parliamentary elections. Poroshenko has repeatedly promised to the international community that there will be no early elections in Ukraine. At the same time, a number of factions insisted on rewriting the coalition agreement. The Batkivshchyna Party demands the appointment of a new Prime Minister, which may cause a parliamentary crisis and the collapse of the coalition, although the dismissal of the Parliament with its absence is a right, and not an obligation of the President.
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