05/27/2015 Ukraine: Daily Highlights -There is no plan to reduce the natural gas tariffs for the households

There is no plan to reduce the natural gas tariffs for the households

05.27.2015 Daily Highlights by the Digests & Analytics Ukraine News Agency

Topics from Media and Social Networks

• There is no plan to reduce the natural gas tariffs for the households.
• Events connected with "Ukrnafta"
• Searches in FIFA headquarters.
• "Dnepr" lost to "Seville" in the UEFA Europa League Final.

Key Events of Ukraine

• The Ministry of Finance reported that in April the total amount of gevernment and government-backed debt increased by $ 2.3 billion and exceeded $ 63 billion.
• Minister of Economic Development Abromavicius hopes that the Parliament will adopt the deregulating law on public procurement during the next parliamentary session in June and reminds that this is a condition for receiving the EU aid.
• Finance Minister Yaresko hopes to hold the direct negotiations with the Ukrainian creditors committee on the restructing of the public debt soon.
• IMF estimating mission, which started to work on May 12, will leave Ukraine by the end of the week, it will present the recommendation that the country should implement before the IMF Executive Board meeting in June which is to make a decision on the allocation of the next tranche in frames of the extended crediting program.
• National Bank increased the official hryvnia exchange rate by 2% against the major currencies: 21.04 UAH/USD (-0.38 UAH), 22.86 UAH/EUR (-0,55 UAH), 4.12 UAH/RUR 10 (-0.13 UAH).

Kyiv Life

• The Day of Kyiv will be celebrated for three days - from April 29 to May 31, with the lighting show at St. Sophia Square on Sunday’s eventing finishing the celebration.

Ukraine at War

• Fighting continues along all the demarcation line in the Donbass. Militants keep shelling the positions of the Ukrainian army, using heavy artillery, MLRS and tanks. According to official reports,  during the day one Ukrainian soldier was killed and eight were injured. At midnight the battle in Maryinka began.
• The electricity supply was cut off in part of the Lugansk region due to the shelling of Schastya thermal power plant by militants. They also shelled Gorluvka, which is under their control, as a result at least two civilians were killed and several were injured.
• A spokesman for the Russian President Peskov denied the statements of the US officials on the use by the  Russian army of the mobile crematoria for burning bodies of those killed in the fighting in the occupied territories of the Donbass .
• The Cabinet has allocated UAH 1 billion for the purchase of housing for the combatants .

Ukraine and the World

• The FIFA headquarters in Zurich were searched, police arrested six officials, whose extradition demands the US  on suspicion of accepting the bribes totaling $ 10 billion. 16 people in general are connected to this investigation. FIFA President Blatter stated that the investigation will not affect the conducting of the World Cup in Russia.
• Ukraine has to make changes to the Tax Code and cancel some duties for the start of equipment deliveries, financed by the NATO trust funds, stated the alliance.
• Ukraine will receive the planned assistance from the EU in the amount of € 1,8 bln only if it conducts the reforms; the country's budget for next year is to be prepared by September; in future, the number of amendments to the budget should be limited.
• Vice-President of the European Commission Timmermans stated that the issue of the return of Russia to the G7 will be absent on the agenda until Russia changes its course. The main topics of the next G7 summit  in Dresden, under the chairmanship of the German Chancellor Merkel, will be the search of common approaches regarding the major threats in foreign policy, the development of the global trade, and also bilateral negotiations.
• US Vice President Biden said that the debates on granting Ukraine the lethal defensive weapons continue in the United States, but the decision is still pending. International sanctions against Russia will not be lifted until Russia fully implements the Minsk Agreement. US Department of State spokesman Rathke specified that sanctions against Russia will not be lifted even when it fulfills the provisions of the Minsk memorandum - this will happen only when Russia ends the occupation of the Crimea.
• A spokesman for the Russian President Peskov called the assumption of possible invasion of Russia in Ukraine inappropriate .

The Trends

• The Ministry of Health prepared a package of bills - it is planned to move the hospitals to the category of non-budget organizations. Hospitals will become the municipal enterprises which might reduce the burden on the state budget, but on the other hand this will restrict the citizens' constitutional rights for the health care.
• The National Commission on prices regulation in the energy sector and utilities does not see any prerequisites for reducing the natural gas prices for the households, but by order of the government it plans to conduct an international audit of these tariffs. Experts point out that the introduction of such tariffs prior to audit and opening of their calculation scheme could lead to the social explosion, as the majority of the population is unable to pay them, despite the introduction of the subsidy program, announced by the Government .