NEWSBRIEFS (06/27/99)

NEWSBRIEFS

G-8 defers decision grant for reactors

COLOGNE - The G-8 summit here, which was attended by the Group of Seven largest industrialized state as well as Russia, on June 18 failed to decide on the grant of $1.2 billion to Ukraine to help complete two nuclear reactors in exchange for the closure of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant next year. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who has met strong opposition from his Greens coalition partners on the funding plan, will travel to Kyiv on July 7 to try to persuade the Ukrainian government to build gas-fueled power plants instead. "Between you and me, my belief is that he has absolutely no chance of persuading President [Leonid] Kuchma," French President Jacques Chirac commented on Mr. Schroeder's trip to Kyiv. Mr. Chirac and other G-8 leaders supported the idea of funding the two replacement reactors. (RFE/RL Newsline)

U.S., EU pledge help for energy sector

BONN - In a joint statement issued after talks in Bonn on June 21, U.S. President Bill Clinton, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and European Commission President Jacques Santer stressed their commitment to help Ukraine obtain funds for its energy sector as compensation for closing the Chornobyl nuclear plant, the DPA news agency reported. The statement did not mention any new grants or credits, however. The three leaders called on President Leonid Kuchma of Ukraine to push forward with reforms, including the privatization of large industries and reforms in the agricultural and energy sectors. The statement also stressed the need to ensure free and fair presidential elections and to protect media freedom in Ukraine. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Trafficking in people is big business

KYIV - "Trade in people is a grave crime that cannot be curbed unless through the joint efforts of governmental and non-governmental organizations," said Nina Karpachova, national deputy in charge of human rights. Trafficking in women has lately become a large-scale criminal business comparable to trafficking in arms and drugs, she noted. "Some 100,000 Ukrainian women in search of employment landed in sex business abroad," said Ms. Karpachova at a June 16 meeting of the coordination council for prevention of trafficking in people in Ukraine. "We are the third nation after Belgium and Germany to have legally defined trafficking in people as a grave crime and set a punishment for it in our Criminal Code," she said announcing that 12 lawsuits have been initiated in Ukraine on such charges. (Eastern Economist)

Cabinet looks for loans to repay debts

KYIV - Ukraine's Finance Minister Ihor Mitiukov told a government-sponsored conference on the 2000 budget in Kyiv on June 22 that the government needs 15.3 billion hryvni ($3.9 billion U.S.) to repay its debt obligations in 2000. Mr. Mitiukov added that in order to pay this sum Ukraine must borrow another 11.1 billion hrv. The Cabinet of Ministers has decided to set up a special commission to prepare a list of sources for drawing money for next year's debt payments, but Mr. Mitiukov declined to name prospective lenders. At that same conference, Minister of the Economy Vasyl Rohovyi said that achieving a no-deficit budget in 2000 is a realistic task. The ministry predicts a 2 percent increase in GDP in 2000 - the first projected economic-growth year in independent Ukraine - and an inflation rate of 10 percent. According to Mr. Rohovyi, the exchange rate in 2000 will remain "below 4.6 hrv to $1." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma tops latest presidential poll

KYIV - A poll conducted in June by the independent Democratic Initiatives Fund and SOCIS-Gallup showed a sharp increase in President Leonid Kuchma's popularity, the Associated Press reported on June 22. Of those respondents who plan to cast their ballots in the October 31 presidential elections, 25 percent would vote for Mr. Kuchma. Natalia Vitrenko, who has so far topped popularity polls, would receive 19 percent of votes. Petro Symonenko and Oleksander Moroz followed with 11 percent and 7 percent backing, respectively. The poll offered no explanation for the boost in the president's popularity, which stood at 18 percent last month. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Tax administration sets priorities

KYIV - The State Tax Administration's collection priorities, as established on June 12, are to disclose illegal conversion of money and uncover violations of tax legislation in the production and sales of excisable goods. Additional attention will also be paid to tax collection in the agro-industrial sector, foreign trade, barter operations, and the fuel and energy sector. Tax collection for the consolidated budget for the first five months of 1999 stood at 9.1 billion hrv, up 24.5 percent from the same period last year. Revenues to the state budget were 4.45 billion hrv, up by 3.8 percent as compared to the first three months of 1998. (Eastern Economist)

Ukraine, Hungary discuss Kosovo

KYIV - Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksander Kuzmuk and his Hungarian counterpart, Janos Szabo, discussed the Kosovo crisis in Kyiv on June 17, MTI reported. Messrs. Szabo and Kuzmuk agreed that Russia has played a major role in securing the Kosovo peace agreement. They stressed, however, that the process of stabilization and democratization of Kosovo and the rest of Yugoslavia will take a long time. The ministers agreed that Ukrainian and Hungarian military experts will continue talks on setting up a joint battalion. In related news, British Defense Secretary George Robertson said in Kyiv the next day that NATO will welcome Ukrainian troops as part of the Kosovo peacekeeping force. (RFE/RL Newsline)

50 percent of shares in bus plant to be sold

KYIV - The State Property Fund on June 17 announced a tender for the purchase of a 50 percent stake in the Lviv Bus Plant (LAZ), the country's monopoly bus-manufacturer. According to Interfax, the sale is one of the World Bank's conditions for granting Ukraine a $100 million loan to develop its enterprises. The fund set the starting price at 11.54 million hryvni ($2.92 million U.S.). In addition, prospective investors must promise to provide LAZ with $5.3 million in cash within a year and to invest $15 million within four years. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Rada issues appeal on freedom of speech

KYIV - The Verkhovna Rada has adopted an appeal to the Council of Europe and European parliaments and governments to help protect freedom of speech in Ukraine, UNIAN reported on June 15. "Lawlessness rules in Ukraine where the president is forcing freedom of speech to its knees," the document reads. The appeal describes the coverage of the current presidential election campaign in Ukraine as biased in favor of the incumbent president, pointing to what it calls the almost total control over the information sphere by the executive. "All this can inflict irreparable harm on Ukraine's democratic development," the appeal warns. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Foreign trade volume is down

KYIV - The volume of foreign trade in commodities for January through April totaled $7.1 billion (U.S.), which is down 25.8 percent over the same period in 1998. Exports declined by $3.3 billion (U.S.), or 28.7 percent. The negative trade balance dropped to less than half to $495 million (U.S.), with the export/import cover ratio at 0.87 compared with 0.80 in 1998. Foreign trade was conducted with partners in 156 countries with 18.2 percent of Ukraine's exports going to Russia, 8.3 percent to China, 6.7 percent to Turkey, 5.7 percent to Germany, 4.7 percent to Italy, 3.3 percent to Belarus, 2.8 percent to the United States, 2.5 percent to Hungary. Imports from Russia accounted for 49.5 percent of the total, 11.7 percent from Turkmenistan, 6.5 percent from Germany, 2.9 percent from Germany, 2.3 percent from Poland, 2 percent from Italy and 1.5 percent from France. From January through April vegetable exports accounted for 8.7 percent of total exports, with grain crops accounting for 5.6 percent. Textile and textile product exports rose to 4.2 percent of the total. Barter operations constituted 5 percent of Ukraine's total exports and 3.6 percent in total imports. (Eastern Economist)

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