The relationship between the European Union and Ukraine was for a long period of time mostly shaped by the European Neighborhood Policy. Between 2009 and 2011, an Association agreement was negotiated. This agreement aims at economic integration, including a deep free trade area, but it will not be ratified until Ukraine deals with concerns over a “stark deterioration of democracy.”

At the same time, on the Eastern front, Kyiv is also having consultations on the subject of the removal of trade barriers. Ukraine is taking a closer look at the possible benefits of Kyiv joining a Russia-led Customs Union (CU). However, since the establishment of the CU, the share of trade turnover of all participating countries has not changed. Figures remain unchanged from 2005 claims a study conducted for 3.2 million rubles that was ordered by the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia. Moreover, according to provided data, the dynamics of the main indicators of the CU and Ukraine in 2009-2011 show that the integration effect is maximal for Russia and minimal for the Ukraine.

Nevertheless, according to the Russian Ministry, the technical regulation system of the Customs Union could improve trade not only with the member states of the CU, but also greatly simplify harmonization with the European Union. This is a very controversial statement, especially taking into account multiple assertions by western diplomats, that it would not be possible.

One of the critics is the current Chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs, Elmar Brok, who stressed that Ukraine should decide whether to join the Customs Union or the European Union. “The position of European institutions is clear. Ukraine cannot have a free trade zone with the Customs Union and the EU simultaneously,” he said.

The European Union thinks that Ukraine is just bluffing about their intentions of joining the CU. A full membership in the union would require a change to the Constitution, which is impossible without the support of the opposition. So the “bluffing” part may indeed be true, but only to a certain extent.

Unfortunately, the Ukrainian government lacks the strategic view of the country’s development that has been clearly shown many times by now. Even though Yanukovych, the President of Ukraine, is reluctant to join the Customs Union and make Ukraine a Russian vassal once more, the unfavorable economic situation and increasing Moscow pressure may tip the scales. Which path to take has yet to be decided, but it is equally true for the European Union.

Image Courtesy : World Economic Forum

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Kyiv, Ukraine — Addressing the nation during the celebration of the 21st Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine, President Viktor Yanukovych singled out a number of positive developments over the past year. They include infrastructural adjustments, conducted to accommodate EURO 2012, further deregulation of the state economy, as well as advances in the ongoing medical reform.

European football championship 2012 became the first major sports event Ukraine hosted in the 21 years of its independence. EURO 2012 attracted nearly 400,000 tourists to Ukraine, estimated the experts of the Ukrainian Youth Tourist Association. The foreign guests were able to visit the renewed stadiums in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Lviv, use upgraded airports, 3,455 kilometers of new or renewed roads, 1,700 kilometers of railroads, and 902 new vehicles of public transport across the country, as well as stay at 290 renovated and newly opened hotels.

In preparation for EURO 2012, Ukraine renovated airports in all host cities, increasing their channel capacity, improving the runway and infrastructure. In May 2012, Ukraine expanded its main air gateway – Boryspil airport, allowing it to service up to 15 million visitors per year.

Additionally, Ukrainian government reported on achievements in economy deregulation and reduction of administrative impact on business. Ukraine cut the total number of state taxes in half. Corporate income tax was reduced from 25 to 21 percent. In 2014, it will go down to 16 percent.

Moreover, starting January 2013, enterprises producing software are exempt from paying value added tax (currently – VAT is 20 percent) on software supply operations. Since January 2013, the corporate tax for IT companies will be reduced from 21 percent to five percent. Ukraine also offers tax incentives to green energy companies, including corporate tax exemption on sales for 10 years starting January 1, 2011.

Another important step for Ukraine is medical reform. It will introduce five-stage medical assistance in Ukraine, featuring first aid, followed by primary, secondary, and tertiary aid, as well as palliative care. At the moment the reform was introduced in four pilot regions. So far, the Ukrainian government opened 21 new and renewed hospitals. Furthermore, Ukraine launched six state of the art perinatal centers under the National Project “New Life.”

Image Courtesy of   Kiev.Victor / Shutterstock.com

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Kyiv, Ukraine  — Ukraine will be able to export 20-21 million tons of grain this marketing year, said the Ukrainian Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Mykola Prysyazhnyuk. This amount, he said, was based on 10 million tons of carry-over stock of grain from last year and this year’s forecasted crop of 45 – 46 million tons.

So far, Ukraine harvested 12.1 million tons of wheat, 5.5 million tons of barley, and 336 thousand tons of rye, reported Prysyazhnyuk.

The aim for Ukraine is to double its agricultural production, said the Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov on July 26. The plan is to increase grain production to 80 – 100 million tons a year, and vegetables – to 30 – 40 million tons a year and a lot of it will depend on investments, he said. According to Ukrainian PM, the last year’s growth rate of investment in agriculture has been much higher than that in other industries; investment in agriculture in 2011 compared with 2010 increased by 7.2 times.

Notably, in July of 2012 the People’s Republic of China allocated the USD 3 billion loan for a set of projects in Ukraine’s agricultural sector. The bilateral cooperation included Ukraine purchasing crop-protection agents, seeds, and equipment from China, land cultivation, construction of a plant for organic fertilizer processing and crop-protection agents production, as well as selling grain to China. The loan was issued for 15 years with annual interest rate of six percent.

In 2011, Ukraine joined world’s top three grain exporters. A year prior – in 2010 – Ukraine landed fourth on the list of leading grain exporters, following the USA, the EU, and Canada. Moreover, Ukraine currently ranks number one in global barley exports. Additionally, Ukraine became the third largest corn supplier in the world in 2011, surpassing Brazil and being the second runner-up to the USA and Argentina.

Top grain customers of Ukraine are Armenia, Egypt, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Liberia, Portugal, Spain, and many others. In April of 2012, Ukraine and Jordan agreed that Ukraine would construct elevator facilities in Jordan. They are set to increase grain supply from Ukraine to Jordan, as well as to several neighboring states.

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Kyiv, Ukraine — Ukraine and the EU finished editing and coordinating approvals of the second – economic – part of the Association Agreement between the parties. They completed technical and legal work on the section of the document that regulates the introduction of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area by the signees, according to the EU Trade Spokesman John Clancy’s statement made for ukrinform.ua.

The agreement will be initialed in Brussels on July 19th, 2012, said Clancy. The next stage is translation of the document in official EU languages (23) and other technical processes that prepare the document for signing. “The decision on whether to sign the Agreement will depend on the political situation in the country,” mentioned Clancy.

“Once this part of the agreement is initialed, the basis for the Free Trade Area formation between Ukraine and the EU may be considered to have been formed,” said Maria Yurikova, Deputy Head of EU Delegation to Ukraine on July 12, 2012.

In March 2012, Ukraine and the EU initialed the select pages of the political and economic parts of the Association Agreement. The introduction of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area comprises the economic part of the document.

The Association Agreement creates a framework for cooperation and stipulates establishing closer economic, cultural, and social ties between the signees. The 170 page political part of the agreement regulates Ukraine – EU relations on the political level.

The economic part of the Association Agreement concerns the introduction of the free trade and covers all trade-related issues. It regulates the questions of competition, customs, energy, intellectual property, public procurement, services, and sustainable development. The provisions are set to improve investment climate in Ukraine and help develop business cooperation between the two regions.

“The EU believes that closer economic integration (in the overall context of a political association) can be a key factor in economic growth for Ukraine,” states ec.europa.eu. In 2011, the volume of Ukraine-EU trade constituted USD 44 billion, reported the Chairman of the State Customs Service of Ukraine Ihor Kaletnyk in March of 2012.

After 21 rounds of negotiations over the Association Agreement, Ukraine and the EU finalized the negotiating process on December 19, 2011. Association talks between Ukraine and the EU started on March 5, 2007.

Image Courtesy of   Πρωθυπουργός της Ελλάδας

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Kyiv, Ukraine – Ukraine will be the only emerging market in the top ten best performing countries at the upcoming 2012 Summer Olympics in London, according to the study compiled by American bank Goldman Sachs. The authors of the research The Olympics and Economics 2012 expect Ukrainian athletes to win 9 gold medals (and 27 total) at the high profile sports event.

Explaining the methodic used to produce The Olympics and Economics 2012, the author states: “Ultimately, it appears that gold does go where growth and the overall growth environment are best.” The report quotes Tim Hollingsworth, the Chief Executive of the British Paralympic Association: “When you create a world class environment you are far more likely to create world class athletes.”

The indicator used by Goldman Sachs experts to assess the probability of a country winning a certain amount of medals was the Growth Environment Score. The analysts used income, as well as political conditions, macroeconomic stability, macroeconomic conditions, human capital, technology and the microeconomic environment as reference points.

Ukraine took the tenth position in the Goldman Sachs rating with other countries in the top ten being the USA, China, the UK, Russia, Australia, France, Germany, South Korea, and Italy. In 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing Ukraine scored 11th position on the medal table. Ukrainian athletes won 7 gold medals, 5 silver, and 15 bronze then.

Interestingly, the authors of The Olympics and Economics 2012 singled out the sports, most affected by the economic variables. They are cycling, judo, rowing, and swimming. Though Ukrainian judoka Roman Gontiuk and cycler Lesya Kalitovska did win bronze in Beijing, Ukraine won gold in shooting, archery, fencing, athletics, canoeing, and boxing.

The Games of the XXX Olympiad will host more than 10,000 athletes representing 204 nations. Ukrainian 2012 Olympic team features 245 athletes. The 2008 Olympic champions Artur Ayvazyan (shooting), Natalya Dobrynska (athletics), Olga Harlan (fencing), Vasyl Lomachenko (boxing), Inna Osypenko-Radomska (canoeing), and Viktor Ruban (archery) will perform in London.

Ukraine doesn’t just aim to rank high in the competition, the country plans to place 2022 Winter Olympics hosting bid in 2014, according to Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Borys Kolesnikov.

The full text of the Goldman Sachs report can be found here.

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Kyiv, Ukraine — The World Newspaper Congress will take place in Kyiv on September 2-5, 2012 and is expected to bring up to 1,200 delegates, representatives of influential international media. The event will also feature the World Editors Forum as well as the annual Info Services Expo 2012.

Now that millions of European football fans and the leading international media discovered Ukrainian hospitality during the EURO 2012, it is high time to establish a deeper and more comprehensive cooperation between Ukrainian and foreign journalists, stated Oleksandr Kurdinovych. Number one objective of the World Association of Newspapers and Publishers (WAN-IFRA) congress is insuring that objective information on developments in Ukraine reaches the “western world,” he mentioned.

According to Ukrainian media the upcoming congress is going to be the second largest international event in Ukraine after EURO 2012 championship.

In preparation to the sports tournament Ukraine drastically improved its infrastructure and, according to Michel Platini, UEFA President, the country’s success was extraordinary. He also noted that the Ukraine’s infrastructure leaped 30 years into the future after having built and renovated airports, built new roads, constructed and renewed 290 hotels. In addition, Ukraine was listed as number one among CIS countries regarding railroad infrastructure development, according to the World Economic Forum’ latest Global Enabling Trade Report.

World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers is a global organization of the world’s newspapers and news publishers that represents over 18,000 publications and 15,000 websites in 120 countries. It has a status of an official consultant, which represents the interests of newspaper industry in UNESCO, United Nations and the European Council.

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Kyiv, Ukraine — The parliament of Ukraine adopted a law providing for open, transparent, and democratic parliamentary elections on October 28th, 2012. The parliament ruled to equip most polling stations with web-cameras, broadcasting the signal from the stations online.

The installation of the web-cameras at the voting stations enables anyone with internet access to watch elections in Ukraine in real time. According to the Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, 34,000 voting stations will be equipped with cameras. Each voting station will be equipped with at least two cameras.

According to the new law, the cameras should be placed in a way that does not interfere with the secret ballot system and the freedom of voting, while ensuring the procedures of voting and vote count are abided. “We will have to provide the whole country with satellite communication in order to run these web-cameras,” said the leader of the Party of Regions Olexandr Yefremov.

Meanwhile, during a meeting with a delegation of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Azarov said that Ukraine welcomed foreign observers from the CIS, the EU, the OSCE, et cetera at the autumn elections. He invited everyone who wanted to come, saying that since Ukraine hosted two million visitors during EURO 2012 it was sure ready to receive 34,000 observers. The Vice President of the OSCE Wolfgang Grossruck already accepted the invitation of the Prime Minister.

In efforts to hold free and fair elections, the Ukrainian parliament passed a new election law on November 17, 2011. It reintroduced the mixed electoral system in Ukraine. According to the new system, 225 members of the Ukrainian parliament will be elected through party lists and 225 MPs – through single-member districts.

The new law also set the election threshold of five percent, banned blocks of political parties to participate in elections, as well as excluded the previously available option of not supporting any party or candidate on the list by ticking the respective box.

Image Courtesy of   Iurii Osadchi / Shutterstock.com

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Kyiv, Ukraine – As the Euro 2012 tournament reached its climax with Sunday’s final in Kiev, the Ukrainian hosts are being praised for their organisation and delivery of a first-class sporting event.

The Ukrainian government is now hoping to capitalise on the success of the tournament, reminding the global business community that it will find an efficient, reform-focused nation when it invests in Ukraine.

The government has cut red tape and deregulated the economy in the same five years it has taken to plan and stage Euro 2012. It has also adopted direct measures to make it easier for investors to enter the market.

“Where is used to take two to three years to enter the market here, it now takes six to nine months,” said the man driving the reforms, First Vice Prime Minister Valeriy Khoroshkovskyi. In fact, initial requests by investors are processed within 24 hours.

“The focus of this government is on scrapping outdated regulations and removing obstacles to investment, growth and jobs,” Khoroshkovskyi said.

The advances Ukraine has made aren’t going unnoticed. The prestigious European Cities and Regions of the Future Awards for 2012/2013 have rated nearly 20 Ukrainian cities and regions in Top Ten categories.

For the Cost of Doing Business category alone Ukraine grabbed six out of ten places.

Ukraine hopes to sign the Association Agreement with the European Union later this year – the first step towards EU membership.

But full membership will take time, and in the interim much is going on to improve the way Ukraine and the EU do business and cooperate in essential regulatory areas.

Over the past week, Khoroshkovskyi has begun the process of agreeing to a Customs Agreement with European Commissioner for Taxation and Customs Union, Audit and Anti-Fraud, Algirdas Šemeta.

This will facilitate a strategic framework for customs cooperation that will make a difference in areas such as simplified VAT refunds for companies that trade between Ukraine and the EU.

“Ukraine’s developing relationship with the European Union is not about us waiting for full membership,” Mr Khoroshkovskyi said.

“In the meantime there are many areas where we can simplify processes and regulations to provide economic benefits and to attract investment.”

A recent international road show targeting the global business community in four continents resulted in bi-lateral negotiations on investments with 62 companies, from Germany’s Commerzbank to U.S.-based energy firm Chevron. These companies are expected to tap into some 15 large-scale investment projects, each of them linked to a key industry in Ukraine, which are designed to be implemented through investment and private public partnerships, effectively introducing a new business model in the country.

Ukraine is expected to allocate $3.5 billion to these investment projects.

Ukraine has recently published an Investor Guide – a series of brochures that explain how to do business in the country in simple language.

The brochures cover topics including understanding the taxation system, real estate and construction, intellectual property rights, and insurance.

Image Courtesy of  katatonia82 / Shutterstock.com

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Anna Pankratova has been a participant in numerous art competitions and in 2002 she won at the Kent Sister City Association, USA International Art Competition. Her jewelry designs are intricately detailed pieces made from polymer clay that one looks at in wonder.  Anna also tutors kids in art and gives them the support they need to begin to master their craft.

ToonariPost (TP): If there was any art medium that you wish you could master, what would it be and why?

Anna Pankratova (AP): I am a supporter of specified ideology. I believe that a man must engage in business that he enjoys and brings pleasure and heartfelt harmony to the being. For me, art is my heartfelt harmony. I enjoy art for its many, different displays – painting, drawing, sculpting, graphic arts, and through education of art.

TP: What are your goals in life? Do you plan to continue art as a hobby or make it a career?

AP: Confucius once said that if one engages in a favorite business, one will never have to work. Art was never simply the hobby for me. Similarly, I would call it a job or a responsibility. Art is the air that I breathe, which separates me from reality, and into my own world. In the near future, I hope to advance my artistic mastery, and I would like to establish my first art studio.

TP: Do you feel that your culture has influenced you in some way that makes you different than other artists?

AP: It is relatively difficult to answer this question. To me, all artists have a non-standard perception of the world, however they have distinctions toward a particular direction of an idea. I would not like to place myself superior to somebody. I put myself parallel to others. I find that people, of any background, all have the ability to exert potential. I am very interested in visiting modern art exhibitions, finding inspiration and awe in the grand works of art masters.

TP: Can you tell me more about your background? What experiences brought you to be the person you are today?

AP: I am an artist, a designer, and an architect from Kherson, Ukraine. I was born into a family of architects. Therefore, it is accurate to say I have the genetic predisposition to the arts. After studying for a few years in art school, I progressed to study in an architectural academy. I took part in many exhibitions and competitions. In 2002 I won in an international artistic competition in Kent (USA) “No borders – only friends“. Today as a side-job I take the time to private-tutor young children, encouraging and engaging them to fine arts and design.

TP: What made you decide to tutor young children?

AP: I had a long history in terms of my passion for art. During a period, prior to working a job, my teacher from art school referred me to tutor students who may be interested in pursuing art. Effortlessly, I took her advice and began tutoring a female student who had the desire to enter an architectural academy. Through teaching a few students, nowadays, I also develop my own professional artistic abilities. Most important is not to impose the ideas and manner of work to the students, but to create ground for the height of their own capabilities and ideas.

TP: What types of art do you have them work on? Can you give me an example of some of the works your students have created?

AP: They are natural life form, geometrical figures, domestic objects, architectural compositions and details, sketches of people, and the like, all possess vivacious life. Through this life exists an endless abundance of vivid opportunities. As for my art students, I begin teaching them through developing an individual program for every one of my students. Generally, I assess what may be the student’s interests or what may peak his or her curiosity.

Here are few examples of their work: “bottles and shells” Author Anna Marinicheva”, “Still life with a shell Author Anna Marinicheva”, “Fruits Author Anna Marinicheva”.

TP: What advice do you give your students when they become frustrated with their art?

AP: In order to achieve a guarantee of success in any field, one must have the passion for the type of work he or she engages in. The same applies to the field of art. Generally, as an aspiring art student, one must have the ambition, the drive, the love, and the passion to design and draw. For instance, the art of still life. Firstly, an individual may see the emotion portrayed through the inanimate object and he must try to transfuse it. The inanimate object exerts a special aura or energy.

Image Courtesy of  Anna Pankatrova

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Thanks to the late-headed goal scored by Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal was able to claim a 1-0 victory against the Czech Republic on Thursday, which in turn sends them into the semifinals of Euro 2012.

The first half of the match was considered disappointing for the first quarterfinal match of the competition. Early chances by the Czech Republic only came from corner kicks, which they were unable to capitalize on due to very poor deliveries.

Portugal seemed to get into the game later in the first half, when Ronaldo fired a beautiful shot that Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech was able to save with an amazing dive. The goal would not have counted if it had gone in, due to referee Howard Webb stopping play mid-pass that was not heard by the Portuguese forward.

In the final minute of the first half, Ronaldo came up again after handling a great cross from Raul Meireles. He gained control of the ball and kicked it straight into the post, the only thing that could stop him from giving Portugal the lead. The chance gave off a strong sense of determination from Portugal, who went into halftime in control of the game even though both teams have not yet scored.

Portugal came out ready to play, with Hugo Almeida missing a header by inches only a couple minutes into the second half. Ronaldo showed up yet again five minutes later with a close chance, taking a bending free-kick that struck the post again instead of hitting the back of the net.

The Czech Republic did not seem as though they were trying to take any offensive chances; Portugal controlled much of the possession throughout the early part of the second half, and the Czech’s seemed to stay on the defensive no matter what. The only real chance for the Czech Republic came in at the 60 minute mark, when Vaclav Pilar managed to speed around the Portuguese defenders with ease, only to give the ball away with a disappointing attempt at a cross.

After several more attempts from Portugal, which were all wide of the net or beautifully saved by Cech, Ronaldo was finally able to capitalize in the 80th minute after a great cross from Joao Moutinho. Ronaldo found room and headed the ball directly into the ground, which in turn ricocheted over the diving Petr Cech and into the top of the goal.

This lone goal was all that was needed in order to send Portugal into the semifinals. For a team that has never won a title at the Euro’s, Portugal heads into the semifinals as an underdog that shows no signs of letting this chance slip through their fingers.

Portugal will play in their semifinal match on June 27 against the winner of the quarterfinal match between Spain and France, which is scheduled for June 23.

Image Courtesy of  Rui Alexandre Araujo / Shutterstock.com

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While England knew that a draw in their game against Ukraine at Donbass Arena in Donetsk, Ukraine, would be enough to achieve qualification from Group D, the return of Wayne Rooney from suspension and the resulting confidence from the victory over Sweden will have the England team eager to try and secure the top spot with a win.

Although they entered the game as favorites, England had to be alert defensively early on with the Ukraine seemingly intent on putting them on the back foot from the start, dominating both possession and territory in the first 15 minutes.

Despite enjoying the lion’s share of possession, Ukraine was unable convert this into meaningful attempts on goal, and most of their chances failed to test Joe Hart in the England goal. The best chance of the first half hour actually went against the run of play and fell to England, with Wayne Rooney, evidently rusty from his lack of game time, headed wide just yards out from goal.

The rest of the first half played out fairly unspectacularly and although Rooney’s solitary chance for England proved to be the best opportunity to break the deadlock, there was no doubting that Ukraine was in control of the game and Roy Hodgson had quite a task on his hands if he was to reverse England’s fortunes and push for the top spot in the group.

Hodgson’s team talk seemed to work instantly, with England taking the lead just two minutes into the second half. Steven Gerrard, who had already supplied two assists so far in this tournament, whipped in a dangerous cross, which Ukrainian goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov could not deal with and the ball fell for Rooney to head into an empty net.

With Ukraine looking desperate to equalize and hopefully take a much needed lead, much-maligned centre back, John Terry, came to England’s rescue, acrobatically clearing a ball off of the line after it had beaten Hart. Instant replays seemed to show that the ball had actually completely crossed the line and the Ukrainian team and fans will feel very aggrieved that the scores were not leveled.

The goal certainly seemed to spur on England and Gerrard’s passing began to open up the Ukrainian defense, releasing the likes of Rooney and Ashley Young into space as England looked to double their lead and confirm their position at the top of the group.

The best efforts of the Ukrainians in the dying minutes were unfortunately not enough to bring their team back into the game and they will have to settle for watching the rest of the tournament in their home nation. England, meanwhile, will be thrilled to have topped the group and, as a result, will face Italy in the quarter-finals rather than the more daunting prospect of Spain, who will be the prize for Group D runner-up, France.

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Co-hosts Ukraine upset the form book as they defeated Group D underdogs Sweden in Kyiv. Two goals from the nations hero Andriy Shevchenko were enough to come back to snatch three points after Zlatan Ibrahimovic had given Sweden what had been a deserved lead.

The fast paced tempo of the game fitted with the raucous atmosphere around the stadium as the Ukrainians did their best to spur their team on. Ukraine were probably the least fancied team in Group D coming into the tournament, but they set their stall out well and challenged underdogs Sweden in every department. The fluid passing between Sweden’s frontline of Ibrahimovic, Toivonen and Rosenberg caused Ukraine issues and Seb Larsson was pulling the strings in midfield, but there were no clear chances for either side until home favourite Andriy Shevchenko found himself through on goal but didn’t catch his shot properly and missed the target.

The atmosphere was certainly aiding the sides approach towards the match, Ukraine were flowing forward and Yarmolenko was only denied by a superb defensive block from Olof Mellberg, before Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s header brushed the post at the other end.

But as the crowd began to calm down a little, so did the game. It wasn’t the most exciting start but the game had become stretched towards the break with both teams creating chances and both producing good football. The second half started in similar fashion with plenty of attacking football, Rosenberg had a shot blocked before Ibrahimovic finally put Sweden ahead with a close range finish. But Ukraine used this as inspiration and just five minutes the stadium erupted when Shevchenko headed home to level things up.

The stadium didn’t have a chance to quiet down when Shevchenko headed home a second from a corner, Mikael Lustig may have felt he would have kept it out had he not moved from the near post as Shevchenko connected with the ball. Sweden were rocking after being dominant but now found themselves 2-1 down and playing against a rocking atmosphere in the middle Kyiv.

Erik Hamren introduced Anders Svensson to try and get a grip of a midfield which was beginning to become overrun by a rejuvenated Ukraine and all the momentum was with the hosts. Hamren made another throw of the dice soon after bringing on the experienced Christian Wilhelmsson for Seb Larsson. Things had gone from looking comfortable to desperate for the Swedes, Rasmus Elm tried his luck from distance but the effort just about summed up Sweden’s mood after looking good for victory after scoring the opener.

Hamren wasn’t waiting any longer to go all out for it and immediately made his final substitution, bringing on ex-Bolton striker Johan Elmander for Rosenberg. If Sweden were going to get back into it, then it seemed goal scorer Ibrahimovic would be the man to do it. Elmander’s nice little knock down found the AC Milan striker and his rocket shot stung the palms of Pyatov but the ball found its way to safety.

Ukraine looked tired but the fans were still out in voice to give Shevchenko a huge round of applause as he made way for Artem Milevsky with ten minutes to go. Wilhelmsson had given Sweden a different dimension and looked lively against a tiring Ukraine defence, but the back four stood tall and kept on denying Sweden any clear cut chances at goal.

The crowd soon went from noisy to nervy as the game hit the final five minutes and that tension had passed on to the Ukraine players who were now hanging on to their lead as Sweden threw everything at the co-hosts. Sweden did have one huge chance to get a draw when some neat work between Ibrahimovic and Elmander saw the former blaze wide and high when in on goal. Swedish fans probably would have been celebrating a goal if the roles had been reversed and the fans sensed Sweden’s chances may have gone.

Deep into stoppage time there was still one more draw of breath from the Ukraine fans when Olof Mellberg found himself in on goal and his lob over Pyatov seemed to take an age to finally land on the roof of the net. It was the last action of an entertaining match with will live long in the memory of Ukrainian fans and Ukrainian football.

Image Courtesy of  KENCKOphotography / Shutterstock.com

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Kyiv, Ukraine – Investors claim to profit in Ukraine, said Ukrainian First Vice Prime Minister Valeriy Khoroshkovskyi in an interview with the Polish news agency PAP. Ukrainian official said that the incoming investments would be protected and profitable. “I am certain Ukraine can help EU recover from the economic crisis,” stated Khoroshkovskyi.

He noted that the reforms Ukraine was recently implementing brought the country closer to the EU standards, creating favorable investment conditions. Among the most recent changes Khoroshkovskyi listed the adoption of judicial reform, criminal and customs codes, as well as changes in energy legislation.

Among the highlights of the judicial reform were the salary increases for the judges, the limitation of the duration of the court proceedings, and the introduction of random assigning of a case to a judge.

New criminal code provides for equal opportunities for each party in the criminal proceedings. The result of the proceedings should now be based on the principle of competitiveness. The new legal document broadens investigation opportunities and ensures proceedings are not delayed.

Reform in customs provides for faster and more transparent customs operations. New customs code introduces the right of entities involved in foreign economic activities to be subjected to customs processing at any customs body. Now the customs authorities face several limitations that include the enforcement of the time limit to perform customs control procedure, prohibition to confiscate goods and vehicles, as well as absence of the right to execute court rulings independently.

As for energy legislation, Ukraine changed legal regulations of natural gas and crude oil extraction, transportation, refinement, and sale. These functions now have to be performed by separate, financially and legally independent companies. This reflects the norms of the European Union Directive N2003/55.

Such major international companies as Chevron and Exxon Mobil intend to invest in gas production in Ukraine. Accommodating investors’ interest, the government exempted companies producing shale gas in the country from import tax on equipment and export duty.

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The European Championships, a showpiece event in the soccer calendar that comes around just once every four years, has rightfully been hitting the headlines this week; however it has been for all the wrong reasons. Hosted in the Eastern European nations of Poland and Ukraine, serious concerns have been raised about the possibility of racist abuse against both visiting players and fans by a minority of local ‘fans’.

The tournament organizer, UEFA, has faced a high level of criticism for allowing these countries to host the tournament when racist and prejudicial behavior is displayed with alarming frequency in their stadiums. The BBC’s ‘Panorama’ show conducted a research into the behavior in stadiums of both Poland and Ukraine and the resulting television documentary shocked viewers. The documentary showed black players being subjected to monkey chants and thrown bananas, whilst some Asian fans were brutally attacked by other fans in the stadium and were given very little assistance by the stewards present at the game. There were also frequent incidents of anti-Semitism and pro-Nazi attitudes that also extended outside of the stadiums.

Whilst UEFA president Michel Platini has vehemently defended their decision to host the tournament in Poland and Ukraine, other soccer luminaries have condemned the decision and taken their own action. Former England centre-back Sol Campbell is one such person and has warned England fans of all ethnicities to stay at home and watch the tournament on television rather than risking abuse and violence by travelling to support the team. Controversial Italian striker Mario Balotelli also voiced discontent with UEFA’s decision, stating that if he is subjected to racist abuse whilst playing at the European Championships, he will simply walk off the pitch.

In the wake of these statements and similar comments from footballers of both past and present, Platini confirmed that any player walking off of the pitch because of racist abuse will be booked. Platini then qualified this by saying that referees would have the discretion to end a match prematurely if they believe racist abuse is occurring. Although Platini’s fairly cavalier attitude to a complex problem has won him very few fans in the last month, the ire of some fans was cooled by his declaration that referees would be able to stop matches early, and should do so, if witnessing racist abuse from fans.

This lessening of tensions did not last long however, with preparations for the opening game of the tournament between Poland and Greece overshadowed by claims the Dutch team were subject to racist chanting during their first open training session in the Polish city of Krakow. Although the Dutch FA will not file a complaint with UEFA, due to the presence of political chanting at the time also, the case has raised an ominous shadow over the entire tournament. All eyes will now be on both the training sessions and matches of the likes of England and France, both of whom have a large number of black players in their squads.

Needless to say, if there are any more reported cases of racism in either country, whether it be in a stadium and directed at players, or on the streets against fans of the visiting teams, strength will be lent to the condemnations of UEFA for allowing a tournament such as this to be hosted in these countries. Platini is likely to bear the brunt of these accusations and will not be able to use ignorance as an excuse, with concerns about racism in the Eastern European leagues having been well publicized for years now.

With UEFA firmly in the firing line should any further incidents occur, Platini and Co. will be watching on anxiously as the tournament moves into the group stages and will be hoping that the tournament will be remembered for its football and not its off-the-field controversies.

Image Courtesy Kancelaria Premiera 

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Kyiv, Ukraine — Ukraine intends to build transport and energy infrastructure facilities in Afghanistan, as well as help repair military equipment produced in the USSR, said the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych at the meeting with Hamid Karzai, the Afghani President. The meeting took place in the framework of the 2012 NATO Summit in Chicago.

Ukraine also aims to continue providing NATO with air transport support to finish the peacemaking campaign in Afghanistan by 2014, mentioned the Ukrainian leader. In addition to the listed intentions, President Yanukovych supported the security transition in Afghanistan by 2014, as outlined in the Lisbon Roadmap.

As a nation contributing to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), Ukraine also supports the 2014-2024 strategic partnership that involves the USA and NATO and is set to help establish peace on the territory of the Central Asian country.

Addressing the summit, Ukrainian leader also expressed the country’s readiness to join the Danish initiative Coalition of Committed Contributors. The so-called 3C-initiative will help fund Afghani security forces after 2014. So far 23 nations joined the initiative, reported Stephen J. Flanagan, PhD, at the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Europe and Eurasia hearing on April 26, 2012.

Ukraine has already joined the Central Asia Counternarcotics Initiative, countering threats of stability from Afghan and Pakistani violent extremist groups which use drug trafficking to fund their activities.

Currently, 22 Ukrainian peacekeepers are stationed in Afghanistan. The team from Ukraine features mine clearance experts, medics, army aviation advisors, and staff officers. It was recently announced that Ukraine planned to add to its ISAF mission a dog handler who specializes in mine and explosives detection.

Ukraine sent its first ISAF representatives to Afghanistan in May of 2007. A team of 10 to 30 Ukrainians (depending on the stage of the mission) performed tasks along with the peacekeepers from Denmark, Croatia, Georgia, and Lithuania. Among other peacekeeping jobs, Ukrainian team helped construct a mosque in a refugee camp in Chaghcharan.

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Kyiv, Ukraine – “Ukraine is a safe country. In this regard, the situation is alike to that in Germany or Switzerland. Everything is going to be okay,” said Martin Kallen, UEFA operations director, in his interview with German sports magazine Kicker, reports SID. The official noted that safety level of EURO 2012 would be top notch.

As part of EURO 2012 preparations, Ukrainian authorities have taken a number of measures aimed at providing safety during the upcoming football championship.

On April 17, 2012, Ukraine opened the Headquarters for international cooperation concerning safety during EURO 2012 in Kyiv. Rapid response and analytical teams at the Headquarters will resolve any pending emergencies during the championship.

In February 2012, Ukrainian delegation visited London to take safety tips from the British as they were preparing for the upcoming 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs created the lists of football hooligans (persons, previously charged with public offence at football matches), particularly ultras, in order to prevent possible clashes between the fans.

Moreover, Ukraine adopted a law that stipulates the persons ruled ineligible to visit football matches in their country of residence might be declined the right to enter Ukraine. Consequently, some fans will not be allowed to visit the country during June of 2012.

Curiously, over the last three years French gendarmerie has been providing training for the Ukrainian internal troops in order to enable them to assist the local police during EURO 2012.

The representatives of law enforcement agencies of the countries participating in EURO 2012 will come to Ukraine to assist Ukrainian police in ensuring safety during the matches. Besides the actual police forces, more than 4,000 stewards will maintain safety at the stadiums.

28 aircrafts, 16 helicopters, and 10 surface-to-air missile systems will guard EURO 2012 host cities, as well as the borders of the country.

UEFA will take charge of the stadiums hosting EURO 2012 on May 11th.

Image Courtesy of  Peter Scholz / Shutterstock.com

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Kyiv, Ukraine – The global edition of The New York Times – International Herald Tribune – dedicated a page to Ukraine in their Friday issue (April 20th). Articles on Ukraine included a feature on the European integration, article on trade with Middle East, as well as a piece sketching Ukraine – Turkey cooperation.

The page titled Partners in Growth begins with an analysis of prospects of enhancing commercial ties with Turkey. “Turkey is an important exporter to Ukraine, sending its food products – especially fruit and nuts – cars and clothes,” reads the text. Ukraine, in return, exports steel products, mineral fertilizers, and chemical and agricultural products to Turkey, says the article.

Summarizing the pros of closer cooperation with Turkey, the piece reminds that such policy fits within the so-called third way strategy outlined by the Ukrainian foreign minister Kostiantyn Gryshchenko. It suggests that an active foreign policy of increasing trade with non-EU and non-CIS states needs to be implemented.

The article on Ukraine’s European integration explains the role of Association Agreement on the way toward becoming a part of the EU. “Polish diplomats hailed the treaty [Association Agreement] as a breakthrough that puts Ukraine directly into the EU orbit,” says the text of the piece that looks onto the possibilities that agreement opens for Ukraine.

According to the article in the International Herald Tribune, Association Agreement targets to eventually lead to a political association and a free-trade area between Ukraine and the EU. Quoting the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Andriy Klyuyev, the article states that a free-trade area with the EU would boost the Ukrainian economy by two percent. Overall, association with Europe would allow Ukraine adopt high European standards, reckoned Minister Gryshchenko.

The International Herald Tribune also informs that the country is an important supplier of grain, goods and expertise to the countries of Middle East and North Africa. Unsurprisingly, Ukraine exports large amounts of grain to the region. Moreover, in October of 2011 the Ukrainian parliament ratified an agreement with Saudi Arabia on space cooperation.

The article puts focus on relations with Egypt and Saudi Arabia as Ukraine’s most active partners in the region.

Incidentally, Ukraine got exclusive coverage in The Washington Post in their February 1st special edition.

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Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers adopted the 2012 plan of immediate measures concerning the country’s integration to the European Union. The document deals with internal reform issues (the likes of gas transporting system modernization, institutional reform in Ukraine, and hosting EURO 2012), as well as questions of deepening Ukraine-EU ties: visa liberalization, cooperation with EU police and justice offices, expanding trade cooperation, etc.

Besides the listed domestic reforms, the document stipulates measures to enhance regional development of the country, restructuring of the national gas managing company Naftogaz, as well as preparations to the Association Agreement implementation.

Ukraine also plans to enhance cooperation with the EU in the areas of nuclear safety, research and technology, defense, space exploration. Additionally, the new document sets the agenda for creating the common airspace with the EU. According to the plan, Ukraine intends to join the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity.

Ukraine and the EU share a 1,391 kilometer long border and have established close cooperation in a number of areas. Ukraine is EU’s strategic gas transit partner. Its gas transporting system services 70% of the Russian gas export to Europe. The EU is one of Ukraine’s key trade partners with the trade volume in 2011 constituting USD 44 billion and demonstrating a 36% growth.

European integration has been a long-term foreign policy goal for Ukraine. The country began negotiations with the EU in 1999. Various officials of the EU member states, including Czech Republic, Finland, and Lithuania, backed Ukraine’s European ambition.
By 2007 the sides agreed to eventually sign the Association Agreement. After 21 rounds of negotiations over the Association Agreement, Ukraine and the EU finalized the negotiating process on December 19, 2011.

The Association Agreement will regulate political cooperation of the partners, as well as introduce the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area between Ukraine and the EU. Initialing of the political and, partly, economical sections of the document took place in Brussels on March 30, 2012.

Currently the sides are working on the technical aspects of the document preparation for signing and further ratification. Meanwhile, the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych stated that Ukraine perceived the Association Agreement as comprehensive program of reforms.

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Due to the contracts signed by Yulia Tymoshenko in 2009, Ukraine will be overpaying from 3 to 5 billion USD for gas annually up to the year 2019.

On April 10 a press conference of Ukrainian officials was held at the premises of NCI European Parliament in Brussels, with the participation of European journalists, experts and community leaders. The topic of the press conference is “Why is Y. Tymoshenko still in jail?”

These results have already been reported to the Ukrainian Parliament’s deputies on March 20, 2012. After hearing the report, 266 people’s deputies out of 450 agreed with the Commission’s arguments. These are the results of the work of the parliamentary Provisional Investigatory Commission.

The Provisional Investigatory Commission has been working for the period from March 2011 to March 20, 2012 in accordance with the following principles:

а) The Commission’s conclusions were made solely on the basis of documents received through official channels;

b) The Commission’s work was carried out with the participation of the representatives of the governmental bodies as well as the opposition in an open mode;

The results of the Commission’s work had shown that during the negotiations and signing of the gas contracts the Prime Minister Tymoshenko violated the following rules:

а) concealed from the public and the authorities the facts of the conflict of interests and dependence on Russia – namely, the debt of her private companies to the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation in amount of 405 million US dollars and the criminal case on a charge of bribery;

b) held secret negotiations with the Prime Minister of Russia, in the result of which she agreed to the signing of unfair contracts that violated the provisions of the previous international agreements;

c) knowing that the government of Ukraine had refused to approve the Directives on signing of the contracts, approved them personally, though, only the Cabinet of Ministers, as the collegial body, has the right for such approval;

d) put pressure on the head of the company and made him sign the contracts, threatening him with the dismissal.

In accordance with the comparative analysis of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and other European countries it was proved that 11 EU member states have articles providing the punishment under the criminal law for such crimes.

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The recently amended law (signed by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on March 3, 2012) on the legal status of Ukrainians abroad considerably broadens the scope of rights of such persons. In particular, the legal act lifts the 10-year validity term of the Ukrainian’s abroad certificate, making it permanent.

The newly amended law sets annual quotas for the admission of Ukrainians abroad to higher educational institutions of Ukraine to get state-funded education. Also, the law makes provision for such persons to get employed with companies and organizations of any level on the same grounds existing for the citizens of Ukraine.

According to the law on the legal status of Ukrainians abroad, Ukrainian government creates a program on collaboration between the state and the persons who have acquired appropriate status. A Ukrainian abroad is a citizen of a different state, however, of Ukrainian ethnicity or origin, explains the law.

In order to acquire such status, one should identify him or herself as a Ukrainian, and upon turning 16 years old – file an appropriate application. The applicant is requested to prove his or her Ukrainian ethnicity or origin by providing relevant documents and testimonials by Ukrainian citizens, other Ukrainians abroad or Ukrainian public organizations abroad.

Ukrainian state maintains and actively develops the relations with individual Ukrainians, as well as self-organized groups of Ukrainians residing abroad  through a number of governmental programs (cultural, professional, educational, etc.) Notably, according to the report by the Ministry of Education, Science, Youth and Sports of Ukraine, Ukrainian educational institutions function in 36 countries around the globe.

Funded by the Ukrainian government, as well as local communities, these establishments help preserve national culture within Ukrainian diaspora and promote their successful integration into the societies of the host countries.

Currently the population of Ukraine amounts to 45.6 million people, according to the latest population census. The largest Ukrainian diaspora resides in neighboring Russia (4,379,690 people).

The second most numerous Ukrainian diaspora can be found in Canada (1,209,085 persons, mainly Canadian born). Canada, therefore, boasts the world’s third-largest Ukrainian population behind Ukraine itself and Russia. Large Ukrainian diaspora can also be found in the neighboring Poland, Slovakia, Romania, and more distant USA, Great Britain, and Germany.

Image Courtesy of  Mark III Photonics / Shutterstock.com

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Former Ukraine Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko could be pardoned under a new Criminal Procedure Code now being introduced as part of the country’s pro-European Union reform agenda.

Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych said that if her sentence remains in force after the code becomes law, he will consider any pardon request from her because he wants the “right solution” according to “European standards.”

Tymoshenko was last year jailed for seven years for exceeding her authority as Prime Minister in concluding a 2009 gas contract with Russia. That deal has since resulted in he                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    r country paying significantly higher prices for Russian gas than its neighbours.

The Yanukovych government maintains that it has always kept its distance from the court proceedings against Tymoshenko. The President says as things now stand, he cannot legally grant her a pardon. Only the completion of court procedures and the introduction of new laws will give him the latitude to free Tymoshenko once her appeal has been heard.

“Once we get a solution of the Court of Appeal…if we adopt the Criminal Procedure Code, I think we will have such a possibility,” he said on Ukrainian TV.

“I am for this matter to be considered under the new Criminal Procedure Code.”

The Code is now working its way through the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) and is one of a number of reforms the Yanukovych has championed to bring his nation in line with EU countries and to express Ukraine’s “European identity.”

Ukraine has also initiated wide-ranging economic reforms and the President last week honoured his pledge to revitalise his cabinet by bringing in three new ministers, including an opposition-linked businessman Petro Poroshenko, as minister for economic development and trade.

Yanukovych said that later this year the EU and other nations will be able to witness fair, free and transparent elections in Ukraine.

“I stand for a fair fight by the rules. There is the law. I am for implementation of this law and fight by the rules according to it,” he said.

“I always stress that this is the first big election to be held by the current power, and of course we must show that we are a civilized country (and) a European country.”

Yanukovych has long maintained Ukraine’s future lies in the European Union and getting a signed Association Agreement with Brussels is the next important step on the long road to EU membership.

Yanukovych has also had to cope with pressure from Russia, which is asking its neighbours to sign a Customs Agreement that would create a Russia-centric free trade alternative to the European Union. Ukraine also recently suffered, along with the EU, unilateral cuts of gas supplies by Gazprom during the cold spell.

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The United Nations International PPP Center of Excellence in Ukraine will soon open in Ukraine to facilitate state-business cooperation, reports the State Agency for Investment and National Projects of Ukraine. United Nations Economic Commission for Europe will help create the center that will contribute to providing a better environment for investors in the country.

The Public Private Partnership Center (P3C) will be created as part of the investment reform currently underway in Ukraine. The government of the country seeks to improve the efficiency of its dialogue with the private sector with the help of the P3C. On July 1, 2010, Ukraine adopted the law on public-private partnership, which provides for the delegation of public-private cooperation managing duties to a special body within the structure of the state executive branch.

The objective of UN’s Center of Excellence is to assist governments in implementing best practice in public-private partnership policy, according to UNECE report by Tony Bonnici of February 8, 2011. The Center’s headquarters in Geneva coordinate activities of units in various countries.

A number of governments confirmed their intention to host components of the Center: Germany, Greece (department for cooperation in the field of seaports), India (roads), Malaysia (sustainability), The Philippines (health), Saudi Arabia (water and waste water), South Korea (power), and Turkey (airports).

The agreement to create the Center emerged when a Ukrainian official Ihor Zhovkva, the Director of Department for National Projects at State Agency for Investment and National Projects of Ukraine, visited PPP Days 2012, jointly hosted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the World Bank Institute, and the Asian Development Bank, on February 21-24, 2012, in Geneva.

Ukraine is currently working on its investment attractiveness with the World Investment Report 2011 (issued by the UN trade and development body) listing Ukraine’s FDI flow rate at 23 percent of gross fixed capital formation. Notably, the average rate of FDI flow for the CIS is 15,1 percent, while the global rate constitutes 9,1 percent.

In December 2011, the President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine Jorge Zukoski named agriculture, fuel and energy complex, financial services, and production of consumer goods as the most appealing sectors of Ukrainian national economy for foreign investments in 2012.

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As Russia’s Gazprom admitted that it had cut gas supplies to Europe at the height of the current cold spell, Ukraine said it is ready to help Russia deliver the necessary volumes of gas to Europe and called for greater European cooperation to modernise its gas transport infrastructure and improve energy security for the EU.

Italy, Austria and France were reporting cuts of as much as 30 percent of Russian gas over the weekend. Analysts have said that Ukraine, which as a transit country accounts for more than 70 percent of Russian gas shipments to the EU, is as much a victim of Moscow as the rest of Europe.

Gazprom Deputy Chief Andrey Kruglov was reported to be conferring with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who has in the past both threatened and implemented cuts to Ukraine and the EU.

Ukraine’s Energy Minister Yuri Boiko was quoted by news agencies saying that shipments to Ukraine had fallen in recent days. Gazprom admitted this but claimed the reason was Russia’s enhanced need because of the cold. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych meanwhile called on energy market participants to seek joint solutions for the future.

“We rely on our European partners, international financial institutions to implement the agreements on their participation in upgrading Ukraine’s gas transportation system,” the Ukrainian president said at the 48th Munich Security Conference on Friday.

He stressed that the situation showed the need for cooperation among all parties and respect for clear, transparent and fair rules of the game in the energy sector. There was a need to balance the interests of Ukraine as the main transit country, Russia as the main supplier, and the European Union as a consumer, President Yanukovych said.

In his speech at the Munich conference, the Ukrainian president also spoke of what he termed the one-sided conditions of the 2009 gas contract with Russia. In 2009, then Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, signed a multi-billion and multi-year dollar gas deal with Vladimir Putin’s Russia that is currently forcing Ukraine to pay more than $500 a cubic meter for Gazprom’s supply of gas, even though world market prices are around $400 per cubic meter.

Analysts in Washington are concerned that Russia may be using its Gazprom supplies to pressure Ukraine to submit to closer Soviet-style ties. They fear that Moscow may try and use its energy supplies and pricing to stop President Yanukovych from his announced aim of signing an Association Agreement with the EU and developing closer ties with Europe.

The recent trial and conviction of Opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko, who was herself a one-time business partner of Russia in the natural gas sector, focussed on her signing of the high-priced 2009 deal with Gazprom without any Cabinet consultation when she was Prime Minister. It was that same deal which is now causing Ukraine to find itself in financial difficulty and a potential hostage of Moscow’s leverage.

 
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Ukraine has moved up 15 places in the World Press Freedom Index [http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-index-2011-2012,1043.html ] published this week, reflecting an improved media landscape in the nation during what proved to be a year of critical world attention.

Ukraine climbed from 131 to 116 on the international table placing it well above many former Soviet republics such as Tajikistan at 122, Russia at 142, Kazakhstan 154, Uzbekistan 157 and Belarus 168out of the 178 countries surveyed globally. The World Press Freedom Index 2011/2012 was produced by Reporters Without Borders.

The boost to Ukraine’s ranking in 2011 reflects a more relaxed working and reporting environment for both domestic journalists and those who visited the country during a year of difficult long-running issues. The trial of Yulia Tymoshenko for abuse of office in committing the cabinet, without consultation, to very high gas prices with Russia in 2009 drew sustained critical reportage both domestically and internationally and the on-going gas dispute with Russia has also been featured.

“While we don’t agree with many foreign assessments of media freedom in our country the Government of Ukraine notes the substantial improvement in our global ranking from Reporters Without Borders,” a foreign ministry spokesman said.

“Last year showed that journalists in this country are free to cover the important issues whether favourable or unfavourable to the government.

“We invite those same journalists to also report the story of Ukraine’s economic improvements, our commitment to our European identity, and the progress toward an Association Agreement with the European Union,” the spokesman said.

A new Electoral Law, modelled on the Council of Europe’s recommendations and requirements, was recently approved by the Ukraine’s Parliament with the support of both the Government and the Opposition. This should set the scene for fair and democratic elections next October.

The EU has significant economic interests in the country, with considerable imports of natural gas that transit Ukraine, and trade valued at some EUR40 billion a year. In 2011 Ukraine’s GDP grew by 5.2 percent and inflation declined from nine percent to five percent.

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Ukraine assumes chairmanship at the Central European Initiative for the period of 2012. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Kostyantyn Gryshchenko, highlighted the importance of active participation of Ukraine in the work of this regional organization given the country’s strategic goal to integrate with the EU.

Ukraine replaces Serbia that presided over the CEI in 2011. In August of 2011, the President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, assigned the Prime Minister to prepare for the CEI presidency. On November 11, 2011, the Secretary General of the CEI, Ambassador Gerhard Pfanzelter, visited Kyiv in preparations for the presidency of Ukraine.

The representatives of both parties agreed on the importance of deepening of cooperation between the macro regions within the CEI, including the following: the Baltic, the Black Sea, the Adriatic-Ionic, and the Danube.

Such cooperation would serve the goals of the international organization that aims to promote political, social-economic, scientific, and cultural cooperation, as well as strengthen safety and secure stability of the region. Moreover, during the meeting in Kyiv, the sides expressed full support to the core CEI missions to promote regional cooperation for European integration.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Kostyantyn Gryshchenko, noted that Ukraine considered the European Strategy for the Danube Region an important initiative that could enhance regional cooperation in the Danube area. He also emphasized that cooperation with the EU remained one of the main priorities of the Initiative.

On December 9, 2011, the CEI was granted the UN observer status.  The Prime Minister of Ukraine, Mykola Azarov, claimed to be eager to explore the opportunities this new status gives the CEI and its member states. Prime Minister Azarov suggested holding a meeting of member states’ finance ministers at the beginning of 2012. The aim of the meeting would be to jointly elaborate on a way to overcome the financial crisis.

Formed in 1989, the CEI is a forum for regional cooperation in Central, Eastern, and South Eastern Europe. Ukraine has been cooperating with the CEI since 1992. By 1994, Ukraine became an associate member and, already in 1996, acquired full membership in the organization. 2012 is the year when Ukraine assumes the chairmanship at the CEI for the first time.

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At the click of a single button, Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, opened the first Nord stream gas pipeline this week. The pipeline is located at the portovaya compressor station, along at the Russian-Finnish border.

The 1220 km Nord Stream Pipeline was constructed in order to deliver gas directly from Russia’s Vyborg to Germany’s Greifswald across the Baltic Sea. Thus far, the Nord Stream is a twin pipeline, which cost $12.5 bn to build. On completion of the second pipeline by 2013, the system will be able to move 55 bn cu m of gas per year, according to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

According to Putin, for the next 50 years, the Nord Stream will supply an annual of 55 billion cubic meters of gas not only to Germany but also to the United Kingdom, Denmark and Netherlands.

Many see the benefits of this new tactic. “Nord Stream is important as it will reduce supply uncertainty and price volatility in the winter,” John Fahy, managing director of London-based consultants Eras Ltd., said in an e-mail, according to Businessweek.

Prior to the Nord Stream, Russia relied on land based transit and transportation of gas via Ukraine. The Ukraine and Russia often disagreed. A major conflict in 2006 between Russia and the Ukraine occurred when Ukraine failed to agree with Russia on a price issue.

According to Russian authorities, Ukraine often refused to pay the prices that Russia asks for; this battle has been an on-going issue from the time of movement the Soviet Union collapsed. Russia also accuses Ukraine of siphoning gas to cover its own shortages. In 2009 the battle over gas prices between Russia and Ukraine reached an extraordinary scale.

These conflicts resulted in Russian stopping the supply of gas in winter to Europe, during the coldest temperatures. This left many European customers shivering without heat. According to Reuters, the pipeline will lesson Russia’s reliance on Ukraine who currently transports close to 80 percent of its exports to Europe.

With a lucrative market for its natural resources, many forecast that Moscow will profit off this new system. Meanwhile, the Ukraine is showing concern over the situation, feeling as though Russia is backing out on their working relationship. “You cannot just unilaterally break a contract,” Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister, Igor Sechin, told reporters at the Nord Stream launch.

Sechin is a close ally of Putin, Reuters said. At the launch, Putin commented on the circumstances. “As with any other transit country, there is always a temptation to exploit its unique transit status” and that, he said, is ending. Businessweek reported that the Nord Stream pipeline will carry enough gas to supply 26 million European home.

Completion of the first phase of Nord Stream has increased doubts of Ukraine’s future gas purchases from Russia and the process of negotiation is also under doubts. Construction of Nord stream is not the only blow to transit nations since Russia also unveiled plans for construction of a South Stream which will run from Southern Russia to Bulgaria under the Black Sea.

Some say supply disruptions will be the thing of past upon the completion of second and third phases of the project.

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The Kiev Zoo in the Ukraine has seen dozens of otherwise healthy animals die in recent years.  Animal welfare groups suggest that malnutrition, a lack of medical care and mistreatment are to blame for the widespread deaths.

The Kiev Zoo has been described as an unkempt warehouse for those with fur and feathers.  Some animal advocates suspect that corruption is the main problem at the zoo which recently saw an elephant drop dead, perhaps from a poor died, Maya the camel died of a digestive illness that could have been prevented and Theo the zebra was killed after crashing into a metal fence trying to reach his female companions that he had been separated from.

Naturewatch, a British-based animal welfare group, is among the organizations calling for the 100-year-old zoo to be closed and its animals sent elsewhere in Europe.  “The Kiev Zoo will never attain any basic standards, it’s so far removed from any zoo in Europe,” said John Ruane of Naturewatch. “The conditions have been absolutely horrendous and no matter how many more directors were appointed the situation still remained the same.”

New managers that took over last October have said that nearly half of the zoo’s animals either died or mysteriously disappeared over two years under their predecessors.  A recent government audit found that thousands of dollars were misspent as animals were illegally sold and funds earmarked for their food and care disappeared. Ukrainian prosecutors have also opened an investigation.

Even with the management change, animals are still dying.  The Kiev zoo was once a favorite tourist attraction for families but began to deteriorate after the collapse of the Soviet Union.  Animals were kept in cramped, poorly lit and poorly heated enclosures, fed improperly and left unattended, according to watchdogs.  The zoo then gained international notoriety in 2007 when it was expelled from the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria after the tragic death of a female bear.

Officials are having a hard time determining exactly how many animals died or disappeared under the previous management. The zoo now has 2,600 animals from 328 species.  Oleksandr Mazurchak, deputy head of the Kiev city administration, said about 250 animals died due to “problems” during two years under Berzina. The government audit last year also found that 131 other animals were missing.

Tamara Tarnavska of the Kiev-based SOS animal rights group believes the zoo must be closed to protect its animals from further abuse.  “The zoo is in such a condition that it’s no longer a zoo, it’s a concentration camp,” Tarnavska said. “When I look those animals in the eyes, I am ashamed to be a human being.”

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