NEWSBRIEFS (06/30/02)

NEWSBRIEFS

EU speaks on Ukraine's integration

KYIV - Francesco Luciani, the deputy head of the European Union's delegation in Ukraine, on June 25 urged Ukrainian officials to have realistic expectations about membership in the union, the Associated Press reported. Speaking at a meeting in Kyiv to discuss the EU-Ukraine summit in July, he praised Ukraine's "excellent results" in improving law enforcement and democracy, but noted that money laundering continues to be a problem. Earlier this month, the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force refused to remove Ukraine from a list of countries that are "uncooperative" in implementing legislation and regulations for preventing money laundering. Mr. Luciani characterized efforts to stop human trafficking (Ukraine is now a "Tier 2" country in prevention of human trafficking, according to the U.S. State Department) and weapons as "impressive" signs of Ukraine's commitment to the EU. However, he also noted that Ukraine still lags in economic reforms, and that European investment in the country is low. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine's economic freedom is ranked

WASHINGTON - The latest Cato Institute Economic Freedom of the World (EFW) index, which measures the consistency of a country's policies and institutions with economic freedom, placed Ukraine at the bottom of the list of 123 countries along with the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Guinea-Bissau and Algeria. The Russian Federation was two places ahead of Ukraine, but behind Zimbabwe on the Cato list. The key ingredients of economic freedom, according to the institute, are personal choice, voluntary exchange, freedom to compete, and protection of person and property. According to the report, "institutions and policies are consistent with economic freedom when they provide an infrastructure for voluntary exchange and protect individuals and their property from aggressors seeking to use violence, coercion and fraud to seize things that do not belong to them." The Cato Institute noted that legal and monetary mechanisms are important in that governments promote economic freedom when they provide a legal structure and law enforcement system that protects the property rights of owners and enforces contracts in an even-handed manner. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kyiv to join NATO membership program

KYIV - Serhii Pyrozhkov, the first vice-secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, told a seminar in Kyiv on June 24 that during the NATO summit in Prague in November Ukraine expects to sign a document on joining a program that would facilitate the country's future NATO membership, UNIAN reported. According to Mr. Pyrozhkov, the alliance is proposing a document that specifies political, economic, defense, security and legislative measures to be taken by Ukraine on its path toward NATO membership. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Talks to reopen on Russia's fleet

KYIV - First Vice-Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Serhii Pyrozhkov noted that Ukraine's bid to join NATO may be hindered by the presence of Russia's Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, the Associated Press reported. He announced that Kyiv is going to reopen talks with Moscow on a 20-year lease now in effect dividing the port at Sevastopol between the Ukrainian and Russian Black Sea fleets. "Ukraine needs to determine the status of [Russia's] Black Sea Fleet base because NATO criteria say that countries with foreign military on their territory may not be members of the alliance," Mr. Pyrozhkov explained. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma confident about GUAM future

ISTANBUL - Following a meeting with Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze in Istanbul on June 25, President Leonid Kuchma of Ukraine said the GUAM interstate union (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova) "has prospects" for development, UNIAN reported. Earlier this month Uzbekistan had announced that it was leaving GUUAM due to lack of progress in its activities, thus reducing the union of five countries to four. Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Anatolii Zlenko said in Istanbul that a GUAM summit will take place in Yalta on July 19-20. He noted that Uzbekistan has not abandoned GUAM altogether. "[Uzbekistan] wants to participate in certain [GUAM] measures linked to economy and combating terrorism," Mr. Zlenko said. (RFE/RL Newsline)

10-year deal on gas transit is signed

KHARKIV - Ukraine's Naftohaz Ukrainy and Russia's Gazprom signed an accord in Kharkiv on June 21, in accordance with which Gazprom pledged to transport at least 110 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas annually via Ukrainian pipelines until 2013, Ukrainian media reported. The deal apparently puts an end to Russian threats to build a new gas pipeline bypassing Ukraine because of Ukrainian gas theft. Moreover, Ukrainian Prime Minister Anatolii Kinakh and his Russian counterpart, Mikhail Kasianov, met in Kharkiv last week and ordered officials and experts to finalize by July details of the repayment of Ukraine's $1.4 billion gas debt to Gazprom with Eurobonds issued by Naftohaz Ukrainy. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Anti-money-laundering bill promoted

KYIV - Ukrainian Finance Minister Ihor Yushko has appealed to the Verkhovna Rada to adopt a law on combating money laundering by October 10 to avoid "additional" sanctions from the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), UNIAN reported. "I'm very much hopeful that we will never learn what these [additional sanctions] may be," Mr. Yushko said, adding that the draft anti-money-laundering bill that is currently in the Parliament meets world standards. Ukraine is one of 15 countries blacklisted by the FATF. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Rada wrangles over session agenda ...

KYIV - The Verkhovna Rada on June 20 voted down a proposal for an agenda of its current session that consisted of 106 issues, including the impeachment of President Leonid Kuchma, UNIAN reported. The proposal was opposed by United Ukraine, the Social Democratic Party (United), the Communist Party and the Socialist Party. The Communists and the Socialists said they voted against the agenda primarily because it included a motion to ban the Communist Party. Lawmaker Oleksander Turchynov of the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, which proposed a motion to impeach Mr. Kuchma, said the bloc will resort to both "parliamentary and non-parliamentary" methods of struggle if it is "illegally deprived of the possibility" to submit draft bills to the parliament. Meanwhile, Our Ukraine has refused to participate in voting on the session's agenda as long as it does not include a proposal to set up a commission for investigating the bankruptcy of the Ukrayina bank and the privatization of Ukrsotsbank. (RFE/RL Newsline)

... demands probe of former security chief

KYIV- The Verkhovna Rada on June 19 approved a request by Hryhorii Omelchenko of the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc to open a criminal investigation against former Security Service of Ukraine Chief Leonid Derkach and his son, National Deputy Andrii Derkach, the Associated Press reported. Mr. Omelchenko based his request on an RFE/RL interview with National Security and Defense Council Secretary Yevhen Marchuk in April, in which Mr. Marchuk said that Mr. Derkach and his son made "illegal deals that made a colossal loss to the state economy." In January the Parliament had demanded an investigation into the Derkaches, alleged involvement in selling arms to the Taliban when they ruled Afghanistan. In May former presidential bodyguard Mykola Melnychenko claimed on RFE/RL that his tapes made secretly in President Leonid Kuchma's office confirm that the elder Derkach had links with the Iraqi and Iranian governments. (RFE/RL Newsline)

PMs want to boost economic cooperation

KHARKIV - Ukrainian Prime Minister Anatolii Kinakh and his Russian counterpart, Mikhail Kasianov, on June 21 attended a session of a bilateral economic commission in Kharkiv, where they stressed the need for deepening mutual economic cooperation, UNIAN reported. Mr. Kasianov expressed satisfaction over Ukraine's recent entry to the Eurasian Economic Community with observer status. The session resulted in a decision by Russia to provide a six-year technical-assistance loan of $44 million to help Ukraine complete construction of two reactors at the Rivne and Khmelnytskyi nuclear-power plants. The previous day, the prime ministers opened a new Ukrainian-Russian border checkpoint near Kharkiv that will handle some 52,000 people and 23,000 vehicles per day, according to Interfax. (RFE/RL Newsline)

United Ukraine splits into seven groups

KYIV - Parliament Chairman Volodymyr Lytvyn announced on June 20 that the United Ukraine parliamentary bloc has reorganized itself into six caucuses and one group, UNIAN reported. United Ukraine has fragmented into Labor Ukraine and Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (38 deputies), Ukraine's Regions (35), United Ukraine (32), Popular Democratic Party (18), Ukraine's Agrarians (16), European Choice (15) and Power of the People (17). The array of forces in the Verkhovna Rada also includes Our Ukraine (111 deputies), the Communist Party (63), the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (23), the Socialist Party (21), and Democratic Initiatives (16), while 12 lawmakers remain outside any faction. Oleksander Zadorozhnyi, the permanent presidential representative in the Verkhovna Rada, expressed hope that the reorganization of United Ukraine will not hinder the previously announced process of forming a single political party on the basis of the For a United Ukraine election bloc. National Democratic Party leader Valerii Pustovoitenko said, however, that his organization will not join the new party originating from the For a United Ukraine bloc. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine to join Europe's space program?

KYIV - The European Space Agency recommended on June 5 that Ukraine join a multinational program that could expand markets for space technology produced in the country, the Associated Press reported the same day. Pierre Brisson, head of the agency's technology-transfer program, said that he is confident the European Commission would approve such a move. The endorsement comes in the wake of announcements by Ukraine that it is seeking greater integration into European structures, including the wish to join NATO by 2010. Following a recent trip to Kyiv by European space experts, Mr. Brisson said Ukraine's materials and processing sectors are the most immediately promising to other European customers, adding that Ukraine could have "an enormous impact on the future [of space technology]." Mr. Brisson said that European Union approval of Ukraine's participation in the program could come within two months, and that work could begin within six months. The Ukrainian government must also approve the country's participation. Eduard Kuznetsov, deputy director of Ukraine's National Space Agency, said he does not expect any problems in this regard. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Estonia condemns Nazi, Soviet crimes

TALLINN - By a vote of 74-1, the Estonian Parliament adopted a statement on June 18 condemning the crimes of the Soviet and German occupation forces in Estonia from 1940 to 1990, the ETA news service reported. The initial draft of the statement, which only dealt with the crimes of the Communist parties of the USSR and Estonia, was submitted more than a year ago. Its adoption was delayed because of presidential elections in which two former Communist Party members were among the leading contenders. The draft was later amended to include Nazi crimes as well. The only dissenting vote came from the leader of the Estonian Social Democratic Labor Party, Tiit Toomsalu, who said the text was too soft on Nazi crimes and incorrectly "condemned 20-30 years of positive social development." The statement does not condemn individual former Communist Party members but rather the Communist regime and its repressive organs, the KGB and NKVD. It stresses that the Soviet and Nazi occupation forces repressed or deported more than one-fifth of the total population of Estonia. (RFE/RL Newsline)

President orders payment of back wages

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma ordered Prime Minister Anatolii Kinakh to take urgent measures to pay overdue wages in the coal-mining sector, UNIAN reported, quoting presidential spokeswoman Olena Hromnytska. Mr. Kuchma reportedly called for 50 million hrv ($9.5 million) to be paid monthly. Ukrainian miners are holding protests in Kyiv over wage arrears. (RFE/RL Newsline)

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