PM: Gov’t proposes to spend up to 5% of GDP on national security, defense and law enforcement (09.12.2014)

National security, defense and funding of the Ukrainian army should be among the key priorities of the Government activity, Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk emphasized presenting a program of the Government activity at a meeting on Tuesday, December 9.

“We have set an ambitious goal to spend up to 5% of GDP on national security, defense and law enforcement. The Government is preparing a new law on the 2015 state budget of Ukraine with due regard to this goal,” the Prime Minister stressed.

On “geopolitical security”, Arseniy Yatsenyuk stressed the need to abandon the law of non-bloc status of Ukraine, “which had been adopted as a bribe to Russians”: “Ukraine will adopt a new law on domestic and foreign policy fundamentals which will abandon its non-bloc status.”

“The Ukrainian army must fully meet NATO standards. For this purpose, Ukraine will approve the Ukraine-NATO annual target action plan,” he underlined.

“A soldier as well as participant of the anti-terrorist operation is the highest value of the army,” Arseniy Yatsenyuk emphasized, recalling that the State Service of Ukraine on ATO Veterans and Participants had been established. Every ATO participant will be registered and receive an appropriate certificate.

“The Government sets out in the budget separate funding for all other social benefits and costs provided for ATO participants and veterans,” he emphasized.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk underlined that the Defence Ministry had already started to implement a new scheme of logistics in the supply and maintenance of Ukrainian servicemen: ‚Such logistics will meet NATO standards.”

The Government’s program also provides the development of the military-industrial complex: “On the one hand, this will enable us to overhaul the Ukrainian army, on the other hand, it is also an additional trigger for Ukraine’s economy growth.”

Within the development of the military-industrial complex the Government set out in the programme the raising of Ukroboronprom’s efficiency, transition to deeper bilateral convergence with foreign partners on military and technical cooperation, implementation of the four Trust Funds’ program, which was proposed by NATO to Ukraine.

Over the next four years, the European Rampart project is provided for the construction and arrangement of the state border between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. For this purpose, according to Arseniy Yatsenyuk, a separate State Agency for State Border Arrangement is being created.

The Prime Minister reminded that Ukraine had already received from the European Union UAH235 million for the arrangement of the border and ensuring security at the border: “We will continue to work with our Western partners to finance the construction of the border at the expense of both international aid and the state budget.”

He said the total cost of the project to be about UAH8 billion.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk underlined ensuring border security to be a key element of visa free regime with the EU. The Prime Minister informed that Ukraine would move to the next stage of preparation for visa liberalization with the EU from 2015: “The issuing of biometric passports in Ukraine will be launched in 2015. We are sure that Ukrainians with new biometric passports will be able to freely travel without visas to member states of the European Union.”

The Prime Minister stressed that national security would be protected in international courts as well. He recalled that Ukraine had filed a series of lawsuits against the Russian Federation to compensate for losses caused by Russian military aggression against Ukraine: “Two lawsuits against the Russian Federation that are currently at the European Court of Human Rights will be considered and effectively completed. We have started filing a lawsuit with the UN International Court of Justice, accusing Russia of breaching the Counter-Terrorism Convention. Russia is financing terrorism and must be responsible for it.”

As part of the development and implementation of the concept of information security, according to Arseniy Yatsenyuk, it is provided to launch international broadcasting: “The world must know what is happening in Ukraine. It should receive this information in English, German, French and other languages”.

Moreover, according to the PM, it is planned to launch public television. Arseniy Yatsenyuk recalled that the Government had decided to establish a Public Joint Stock Company “National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine”: “We will complete the privatization of the media and create effective public television in Ukraine.”

Quelle: Information and Communication Department of the Secretariat of the CMU, <http://www.kmu.gov.ua/control/en/publish/article?art_id=247805111&cat_id=244314975>

Gov’t Action Program: A new anti-corruption policy and a new system of justice (09.12.2014)

The Government’s Action Program provides the implementation of the Government’s anti-corruption legislation, the establishment of the National Anti-Corruption Agency as well as the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, lifestyle monitoring of civil servants, reforming of the judicial system as well as the Interior Ministry, Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk informed presenting the Government’s Action Program at a meeting on Tuesday, December 9.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk reminded that the Government along with the President of Ukraine had developed a package of five anti-corruption bills that had been already passed by the Parliament, “Now it’s about the implementation of these laws. First of all—the creation and launch of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, the establishment and effective activity of the National Anti-Corruption Agency that is a preventive body established to combat corruption.”

The PM has emphasized the need for the introduction of electronic declaration of incomes and expenditures of all public officials as well as monitoring of civil servants whether their declared income corresponds their way of life.

According to him, a separate question is the adopted law regarding the disclosure of information about the real owners of the business and assets owned by Ukrainian citizens, including officials: “The country should know what they own, and who owns and on what grounds it was purchased.”

Talking about the reform of law enforcement, Arseniy Yatsenyuk said that the Ministry of Internal Affairs had developed a concept of reform of the Interior Ministry and a bill on the National Police was being submitted to the Parliament, “Abolishing of a number of non-core functions of the MIA, including those post-Soviet departments designed to combat crime and corruption, which headed crime and corruption.”

According to Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the establishment of the State Bureau of Investigation is one more task, “The approved law deprived the Prosecutor’s office of the functions of general surveillance and, therefore, conducting the investigation. And the State Bureau of Investigation will take over the functions of an independent investigative body for the related crimes”.

“Without fair and transparent courts in Ukraine this is worth nothing. The corrupt system in state courts is killing the state, destroying property in the state, destroying any hope for the future. Frankly speaking, there have been no real changes in the judicial system for the last nine months,” he said.

“Our task along with the Parliament and the President of Ukraine is to adopt a new law of Ukraine on the status of judges and the judicial system as well as complete re-certification of judges of Ukraine. To do this, the High Council of Justice shall be formed and act effectively,” he said.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk also said that the Government would initiate amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine on an introduction of a three-stage court system, “where the Supreme Court of Ukraine, as provided by the Constitution, would finally obtain the right of the highest judicial authority in the country.”

It is also provided to simplify a number of judicial proceedings and ensure access to the judicial system. The Prime Minister stated that in the framework of this work amendments to all procedural codes of Ukraine would be submitted to the Parliament.

Quelle: Information and Communication Department of the Secretariat of the CMU, <http://www.kmu.gov.ua/control/en/publish/article?art_id=247806002&cat_id=244314975>

A new governance policy: decentralization, deregulation, de-bureaucratization and responsibility (09.12.2014)

The core problems of a public administration system—bureaucracy, irresponsibility and centralization, “Our answer is decentralization, deregulation, de-bureaucratization and responsibility of each government official,” stressed Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk in the course of presentation of the Action Program of the Cabinet of Ministers at the Cabinet’s meeting on Tuesday, December 9.

The Head of Government accentuated the need to reduce the number of areas of convergence between business and Government.

“Primarily, Ukrainian state authorities should meet the standards that exist in the European Union. Together with the EU we have set up the Support Group for Ukraine, with hundreds of experts working in it, who are capable to provide us with an opportunity to completely reload the public governance system in Ukraine, starting with the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the relevant ministries and ending with various central government agencies, regulatory bodies and local authorities”, he stressed.

In the Action Program the Government has envisaged the completion of a process of reducing supervisory bodies, “28 out of 56 regulatory authorities shall remain in a first stage. The Government has approved a corresponding decision, now we should ensure implementation of the decision”.

Moreover, the Government decided to reduce in a first stage the number of supervisory functions from 1032 to 680, “In the next stage we will make changes to license laws, a separate package of deregulation laws, called to maximally eliminate all exaggerated functions of Ukrainian officials and to bring them to compliance with the standards and criteria of the European Union”.

The Action Program contains specific draft laws and deadlines to approve these laws, “We lack time for a long discussion there, so it must be the first half of 2015”.

“On deregulation issue we officially declare that Ukraine abolished the Soviet-time state standards”, he said and informed that following the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU there will be introduced 1500 new standards, “We will have to spend a lot of time, as it is a complex technical work. And that is why we have set the deadline till 2016. These are optimistic deadlines which must be met”.

In the framework of fiscal decentralization the Government, according to the PM, hands over a number of fiscal and taxation powers to local self-government bodies, “With the money we will give them responsibility, as rights always imply responsibility.”

“We believe the Parliament will support fiscal decentralization, which is offered by the Government and has been discussed with the Association of Cities and local authorities. I emphasize that it is the first stage—there is no limit to perfection. But this first phase should be implemented,” he added.

The Government’s program also offers opening of local “transparent offices”. Arseniy Yatsenyuk reminded that a corresponding decision of the Cabinet of Ministers had already been adopted, “It is the responsibility of local authorities and local state administrations. We require from the local authorities in 2015 together with the Government, to finally complete a section of an administrative reform—upgrading of administrative services and opening of transparent offices”.

Apart from that, Arseniy Yatsenyuk informed that the Government plans further reduction of the state apparatus, “This year we have cut the state apparatus by 28 thousand officials. We will follow the path of shortening the public sector, and we have set a target for 2015—by another 10%. At this, an increase of salaries for the public sector as a whole. It concerns not just officials, but all the people who work in the public sector—teachers, doctors, all those who receive funds from the budget and serve for the country.”

“Reducing the quantity and increasing efficiency and wages—this is the path we have chosen,” said the Head of Government.

Concerning refresh of cadres, he noted “We have a new Government, there has never existed such a Government in the history of Ukraine: completely new, bright people with a different vision. But making changes at a Government’s level is not enough. Similar changes must be carried in each ministry, in each department, in each administration both on a regional and district levels, and in all authorities in general.”

With this aim in the first quarter of 2015 the Government introduces a new draft law on civil service, “which envisages a transparent competitive selection of government officials and introduces a procedure of accountability of government officials for the failure to fulfil their legitimate functions.”

Arseniy Yatsenyuk also informed that the Government’s Action Program provides for the introduction of e-governance. According to him, Ukraine will receive the support of European partners here, “primarily of Estonia that did an exemplary pilot project of e-governance”, “We must abandon the tons of paper that circulates the ministries. We have set an ambitious goal—transition to e-government exceptionally, and it envisages an ID for everyone in Ukraine, a digital signature and an electronic document circulation”.

The first stage of e-governance must be completed in 2016, according to the Prime Minister.

Quelle: Information and Communication Department of the Secretariat of the CMU, <http://www.kmu.gov.ua/control/en/publish/article?art_id=247805932&cat_id=244314975>