Government proposes handing assets, liabilities of troubled banks to state-owned banks

News / 26 August 2009 | 17:22

The Ukrainian government has proposed handing over the assets and liabilities of commercial banks that require rehabilitation to state-owned banks and then possibly liquidating the troubled financial institutions, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said at a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday, according to Kyiv Post.

“The government is prepared to provide the services of state-owned banks so they can be given the assets and liabilities [of troubled banks] and the banks would be liquidated,” she said.

This proposal is contained in an open letter that was approved at a government meeting on Wednesday, she said.

Tymoshenko said the Cabinet is in favor replacing temporary administrators at these banks and already submitted the corresponding nominations to the National Bank “several weeks ago.”

For now, these proposals are not being considered and the government has only suggested taking on the liabilities of troubled banks, she said.

Temporary administrators were introduced at 16 banks in early August.

Ukraine currently has two state-owned banks – Oschadbank and Ukreximbank.

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Yatseniuk: Cuts in Russian gas consumption won’t strengthen Ukraine’s energy independence

News / 26 August 2009 | 16:15

Arseniy Yatseniuk, the leader of the Front for Changes initiative, considers that the reduction in Russian gas consumption by Ukraine won’t strengthen its energy independence, but will bring the state to its knees, Kyiv Post reported.

Yatseniuk said this in an interview with the Interfax-Ukraine news agency on Wednesday.

Yatseniuk said that Ukrainian Premier Yulia Tymoshenko at an annual meeting of the Ukrainian World Congress in Lviv on August 20, 2009, had announced that Ukraine in 2009 would buy 33 billion cubic meters of gas from Russia for its consumers, and in 2010 it would buy 25 billion cubic meters. According to Tymoshenko, the reduction of gas consumption by Ukraine is the result of the government’s work in making the country independent of Russian fuel supplies. Along with this, the cabinet is planning to substitute gas with other kinds of fuel.

“What are you talking about? What energy safety? The optimistic statements of Tymoshenko’s government are lie from the first to the last word. The reduction of Russian gas consumption by Ukraine won’t strengthen the energy independence of Ukraine,” Yatseniuk stressed.

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Tymoshenko promises not to increase gas prices for people this year

News / 26 August 2009 | 15:00

Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko says that the gas price for population will not increase this year.

According to an UNIAN correspondent, she said this today, speaking with residents of the Rivne Oblast, who were present in the opening ceremony of the traffic at Kyiv-Chop road.

“There will be no increasing in price for the population”, said Y. Tymoshenko.

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Ukraine changes requirements for school physical training

News / 26 August 2009 | 14:30

The Ministry of Education and Science has introduced a new education program on physical training for pupils being in the 5th and 9th grades, the ministerial press-service reported, according to UkrInform.

The program envisages a new approach and suggests that every school has the right to independently form a content of the ‘Physical Culture’ subject. Besides, approaches for assessing educational achievements have been modified as well.

In particular, the assessment will be made on four types of activity: theoretical learning, fulfillment of training standards, fulfillment of training tasks during a lesson, and performance technique.

The program will be operational from September 1, 2009.

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Kyivkhlib to raise prices for bread by 5 percent from August 31

News / 26 August 2009 | 13:48

One of the largest bread and bakery goods producers in Kyiv, Kyivkhlib to raise prices for popular kinds of bread by 5% from August 31, company press service has informed Ukrainian News.

From August 31 all the company enterprises will raise prices for popular kinds of bread by 5%.

As Ukrainian News earlier reported, Kyivkhlib reported a loss of UAH 14.634 million for 2008 with the net revenue having increased by 31.8% or UAH 223.418 million to UAH 926.828 million over 2007.

The Fininvestgroup closed joint-stock company (Kyiv) owns 23.956% of the shares in Kyivkhlib, the Khlib Kyiva closed joint-stock company (Kyiv) owns 17.2%, the Haron limited liability company (Kyiv) owns 24.227%, the Prominvest Tekhnolohia limited liability company (Kyiv) owns 11.122%, and Vitalii Yefrosynin owns 16.748%.

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Lytvyn criticizes president’s initiative to hold nationwide debate on constitutional amendments

News / 26 August 2009 | 12:40

Ukrainian Parliament Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn has criticized the prospects of holding a nationwide debate on a bill of constitutional amendments, according to Interfax-Ukraine .

He made the comment at a press conference in Mykolaiv on Tuesday, while commenting on President Viktor Yuschenko’s decree to hold a nationwide debate on the president’s draft of constitutional amendments, the parliament’s press service reported.

“The president has invented a new form – a nationwide debate, however, it’s unclear what legal grounds are present here. It’s quite clear that there is some sort of political and moral dimension here. The conclusion is obvious for me – this is an election scheme,” Lytvyn said.

“I will venture to affirm that there will be no referendum, because in order to declare it, it’s necessary to meet a number of conditions, in particular, to create initiative groups that should be registered, and then to collect three million signatures from citizens, including at least 100,000 signatures each in two thirds of the regions,” he said.

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Chernovetsky: Euro 2012 final will take place in Kyiv

News / 26 August 2009 | 11:38

Kyiv Mayor Leonid Chernovetsky said he is confident that the final match of the Euro 2012 European Football Championship will be held in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, Interfax-Ukraine reported.

“The Euro 2012 final will take place in Kyiv, and Kyiv City State Administration will do all it can for this to be so,” he said at a council on preparing the infrastructure of Euro 2012 host cities on Tuesday.

Chernovetsky said that the city administration would ensure the Euro 2012 final is held in Kyiv despite all of the economic hardships.

“It’s a matter of honor for me. Despite the difficult economic situation in the country and following the adoption of the 2009 budget that is discriminatory in respect to Kyiv as half of the 2008 budget was stolen from us, I want to say that we’ll find a chance for everything to be as I said – the final match of Euro 2012 will take place in Kyiv,” he said.

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PM met with representatives of World Congress of Ukrainians

News / 26 August 2009 | 11:16

The Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko held a meeting with representatives of the World Congress of Ukrainians. The event was also attended by Vice Prime Ministers Hryhoriy Nemyria and Ivan Vasiunyk, ministers, heads of profile departments of the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, press service of Yulia Tymoshenko reported.

“For us this meeting is of extreme significance. We consider that every issue being considered here will lay the basis for your system cooperation with the Government and, in fact, will give hope to all the Ukrainians abroad to feel support of the Government,” Yulia Tymoshenko stressed.

According to her, the aim of this meeting is “to clarify details of such cooperation” and make up a concrete action plan how to introduce the program on support of Ukrainians abroad, notably, with regards to use of UAH 47 million from the Stabilization Fund that were decided to allocate during a session of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on August 19.

Yulia Tymoshenko thanked to the representatives of the World Congress of Ukrainians for “the fundamental, broad professional activity performed by you for the sake of Ukraine and Ukrainians living all around the world. And I can admit it is impossible to overestimate this activity”.

In his turn, president of the World Congress of Ukrainians Yevhen Choliy expressed deep gratitude to the Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko for the approval of a resolution of the Government on financing of measures directed to maintaining ties with Ukrainians abroad. In particular, according to him, it is protection of rights of Ukrainians abroad; erection of a memorial to the victims of Holodomor in Washington; distribution of Ukrainian television programs and films abroad.

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