aaus-list @ ukrainianstudies.org -- [aaus-list] Fwd: Ukraine Today -- 18.02.2002

[Robert De Lossa <radelo@earthlink.net>]

[from "Yaroslav Davydovsky  {20122}" <sda@ukrainet.lviv.ua>]
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   UKRAINE TODAY
   Main weekly events from Infobank News Agency


   18 February 2002



   * PRODUCTION RISES IN JANUARY IN OIL REFINING AND ENGINEERING SECTORS,
     PREMIER KINAKH SAYS
   * PERSONNEL WRANGLING IN KYIV CITY ADMINISTRATION
   * KYIV MAYOR CALLED BACK FROM PRE-ELECTION LEAVE
   * COMMUNIST PARTY, OUR UKRAINE BLOC CONTINUE TO TOP POPULARITY LIST IN
     PRE-ELECTION POLLS
   * GOVERNMENT DOES NOT INCLUDE UKRTELECOM, UMC IN LIST OF COMPANIES TO BE
     PRIVATIZED THIS YEAR
   * UKRAINE'S GDP GROWS BY 3.2 PERCENT IN JANUARY
   * PRESIDENT KUCHMA VETOES CIVIL AND ECONOMIC CODES
   * PRESIDENT REPEATEDLY VETOES LAW ON CABINET OF MINISTERS
   * UKRAINE GETS RID OF MOST PLANTS PRODUCING PIRATE CDs, PRESIDENT KUCHMA
     SAYS






   PRODUCTION RISES IN JANUARY IN OIL REFINING AND ENGINEERING SECTORS,
   PREMIER KINAKH SAYS

   KYIV. The largest production growth was observed in January in the oil
   refining and engineering sectors, Inter TV Channel quotes Prime Minister
   Anatoly Kinakh as saying at the government session on February 11.

   According to Anatoly Kinakh, in oil refining the rate of growth was 26% in
   January compared with January 2001, in engineering 18.6%, in processing
   industry 10.9%. On the contrary, steel production dropped due to record
   low prices on steel on world markets.


   PERSONNEL WRANGLING IN KYIV CITY ADMINISTRATION

   KYIV. Kyiv's Mayor, Head of the city state administration, and Chairman
   of the Yednist election bloc Oleksandr Omelchenko who is running for a
   seat in parliament has revoked his earlier decision to go on leave as of
   February 9, 2002 due to election campaign. The reason for this step was
   that, while O. Omelchenko appointed his deputy for construction Mykhailo
   Holytsia to act as interim mayor for the time of his leave, President
   Kuchma named Ihor Shovkun, head of department for economic policy issues
   to run the mayor's office.

   On February 11, Prime Minister Anatoly Kinakh in person delivered the
   president's edict on Mr. Shovkun's appointment as interim mayor to the
   Mayor's Office where the ceremony of assuming office was to have been
   held, premier's press secretary Serhy Nahoriansky told journalists.
   However, the ceremony did not take place. After staying for about ten
   minutes in Mr. Omelchenko's office, the premier left it refusing to give
   any comment to journalists. Together with Mr. Omelchenko, his deputies and
   Yednist Verkhovna Rada faction members were in his office.

   Simultaneously, President Kuchma, currently on a visit to the
   Hanty-Mansijsk National Region (Russia) told journalists that Olexandr
   Omelchenko must abide by his edict, because, under the Constitution, heads
   of Kyiv's state administration are appointed by the president. The
   incumbent also noted that Mr. Omelchenko has concentrated representative,
   legislative, and executive power in his hands, an unprecedented case for
   any regional executive.

   Kyiv City Council is to meet for an emergency session on February 12 to
   consider the conflict.


   KYIV MAYOR CALLED BACK FROM PRE-ELECTION LEAVE

   KYIV. On February 12 the Kyiv City Council obligated the City Mayor,
   Oleksandr Omelchenko, to perform his functions before and during the
   parliamentary elections and govern the council's executive body, the Kyiv
   city state administration.

   Kyiv councilors also made a statement in which they criticized attempts to
   weaken local administration and destabilize the political situation in the
   capital as well as across the country. The City Council passed a vote of
   no-confidence in Ihor Shovkun, the administration deputy head and head of
   the city economic department claiming to serve as acting head of the city
   administration - allegedly in violation of the law.

   Speaking at the session of the City Council, Kyiv Mayor Oleksandr
   Omelchenko said that he had telephoned heads of the law-enforcement
   agencies of the city and warned them against carrying out instructions
   given by anyone except him and they had given him their consent.
   According to the Mayor, he had also booked a telephone conversation with
   President Leonid Kuchma, who is now on a visit around Russia's Siberia.

   Meanwhile, today Ihor Shovkun, whom President Kuchma appointed acting head
   of the Kyiv City State Administration on February 11, has held a meeting
   with department heads of the city administration. He demands that they
   carry out his orders. Mr. Shovkun has assumed control of the
   administration's finance and transport departments.


   COMMUNIST PARTY, OUR UKRAINE BLOC CONTINUE TO TOP POPULARITY LIST IN
   PRE-ELECTION POLLS

   KYIV. A nation-wide poll conducted by the Oleksandr Razumkov Ukrainian
   Center for Political and Economic Research from January 30 to February 6
   shows that if the parliamentary elections in Ukraine were held in
   February, 18.8% of the people in the poll would vote for Viktor
   Yushchenko's "Our Ukraine" bloc and 15.2% for the Communist party, reports
   for-ua.com.

   According to the poll, 6.0% of the people would vote for the Green party,
   5.3% for the All-Ukrainian political union "Women For Future" and the same
   number for the Social Democratic Party of Ukraine (united). 3.9% would
   vote for the "For a United Ukraine" bloc, 3.5% for the Yulia Tymoshenko
   bloc and 3.1% for the Socialist party. The Yabluko party would have 1.5%
   of the votes, the "Democratic Party - Democratic Union" bloc 1.3% and the
   Yednist bloc 1%.

   The poll, which was conducted in all Ukrainian regions, including Crimea,
   Kyiv and Sevastopol, involved 2,012 respondents aged 18 and more.


   GOVERNMENT DOES NOT INCLUDE UKRTELECOM, UMC IN LIST OF COMPANIES TO BE
   PRIVATIZED THIS YEAR

   KYIV. At its February 13 meeting the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
   approved a list of companies stake in which are to be sold in 2002.
   However, two companies, Ukrtelecom and Ukrainian Mobile Communication,
   were taken off the list, which was submitted to the government by the
   State Property Fund (SPF), Mykhailo Chechetov, first deputy head of the
   SPF, told reporters.

   A 25% stake in JV Ukrainian Mobile Communication was expected to be
   sold for UAH 266.33 million, and 37% in OJSC Ukrtelecom for UAH
   1,732,000,000.

   The approved list contains nearly 30 open joint stock companies, including
   12 energy distributing companies. According to Mr. Chechetov, the
   privatization of the companies on the list should generate UAH 2.8
   billion to the budget, the target being UAH 5.9 billion.

   Among other companies to be sold this year are OJSC Rosava (74.62% stake
   with the face value of UAH 51.67 million), Ukrzakhidvuhlebud (99.68% stake
   valued at UAH 11.6 million), Donetsk metallurgical plant (16.03% - UAH
   14.52 million), Pivdennyi engineering plant (75.01% - UAH 18.72 million),
   Kyivmetrobud (25% - UAH 1.75 million) and Nikopol Pivdennotrubnyi plant
   (99.67% - UAH 352 million).


   UKRAINE'S GDP GROWS BY 3.2 PERCENT IN JANUARY

   KYIV. In January, the Gross Domestic Product has grown by 3.2%, compared
   to January 2001, Korrespondent.net quotes an aide of Ukraine's vice
   premier, Serhy Samoilenko, as saying.

   According to the official, the GDP growth was largest in wholesale and
   retail trade, up by 20.2%, in agriculture and forestry up by 9.7%. In
   2001, Ukraine's GDP grew by 9%.


   PRESIDENT KUCHMA VETOES CIVIL AND ECONOMIC CODES

   KYIV. President Kuchma has vetoed the Civil and Economic Codes recently
   passed by Verkhovna Rada, as well as laws implementing these codes.
   President Kuchma submitted to Verkhovna Rada his proposals he wants
   included in the codes on February 14 but their content is not known.

   As Infobank has reported earlier, on November 29, 2001, Ukraine's
   parliament enacted a new Civil Code, supporting it by 277 votes, and the
   Economic code, supporting it with 317 votes. With 244 'aye' votes,
   lawmakers instructed Verkhovna Rada's commissions to finalize these two
   Codes.

   The new Civil Code of Ukraine encompasses 8 volumes and specifies personal
   property rights of natural persons, as well as regulates the property law,
   The law of obligation, the family law and the inheritance law. A separate
   chapter deals with the copyright law, industrial ownership law, and trade
   marks. Another separate chapter contains provisions of the international
   law.

   The Economic Code specifies legal guidelines for economic activity and
   regulates economic relationships in the country in parallel with the Civil
   Code. The Code differentiates such participants of economic life:
   enterprises, collective and private companies, associations of companies
   and individual businessmen, customers and economic department of the
   government. The Code regulates the use of natural resources and the rights
   of industrial ownership, the use of securities, defines corporate rights,
   procedures for signing economic contracts ,status of free economic zones,
   insurance procedures, banking procedures and auditing procedures.

   The Economic Code also includes the kinds of administrative and economic
   sanctions which can be imposed by the executive on economic entities. The
   sanctions envisage arbitrary arrest of profits, fines, arrest of non-tax
   mandatory payments, ban on export/import operations, partial or complete
   closure of a business entity, or an arbitrary change of entity's
   production profile.

   The Economic Code envisages measures aimed at restricting monopolization
   and protection of legal entities against unfair competition. The Code
   imposes on businesses the commitment to carry out primary accounting and
   book accounting, submit statistics reports. Under the Code, joint venture
   companies cannot be created in strategic sectors of Ukraine's economy and
   in the institutions of the National Academy of Sciences dealing with
   secret research.


   PRESIDENT REPEATEDLY VETOES LAW ON CABINET OF MINISTERS

   KYIV. The Ukrainian President has vetoed a seventh time the law on the
   Cabinet of Ministers, whose new version was passed by parliament in
   January. Under this law, the status of the Cabinet of Ministers is that
   of a supreme body within the system of executive power. The
   President-proposed changes to the law have been registered in the Supreme
   Council's information department.

   The President of Ukraine is against the law's provision that demands that
   the head of state hold preliminary consultations with parliamentary
   factions about a new candidacy for the post of prime minister and
   obligates the premier to inform the parliament speaker of his/her
   nominations of government members put forward to the President.

   As Infobank has reported earlier, on January 16, the Ukrainian
   lawmakers approved another law on the Cabinet of Ministers. The law
   was supported by 231 deputies.

   Under the law, the Cabinet of Ministers consisting of a prime
   minister, first and three vice-premiers, and ministers, is a supreme
   executive body. The Cabinet is to be formed within 60 days as of the
   moment of assuming office by the president or the resignation of
   a preceding government.

   The law imposes no limits for the president on the number of nominations
   of the premier, but obliges the president to carry out consultations with
   Verkhovna Rada factions about any new candidate. Under the law, parliament
   can pass a vote of no-confidence in the government which entails the
   latter's automatic resignation. The law also runs that cabinet members are
   political figures, not civil servants.

   According to Infobank's earlier reports, the previous law on the Cabinet
   of Ministers approved in May of 1997 has not been signed by the President,
   who has returned it to Verkhovna Rada for revisions seven times.


   UKRAINE GETS RID OF MOST PLANTS PRODUCING PIRATE CDs, PRESIDENT KUCHMA
   SAYS

   KYIV. Ukraine stopped production at most of CD-making plants that
   produced, according to the Americans, bootleg CDs, For-ua.com quotes
   President Kuchma as saying during his meeting with representatives of the
   International Congress of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.

   According to the president, only two production lines are operating at six
   or seven CD plants at present. Due to this, Ukraine cannot be selling
   pirate CDs in Europe, as the United States claim. L.Kuchma strongly
   criticized the sanctions imposed against Ukraine by the US, saying the law
   passed by parliament and his edict completely regulate civilized
   production of CDs.

   As Infobank has reported earlier, President Kuchma signed the law on
   licensing production, export, and import of optical media products, which
   was initiated by Mykhailo Pavlovsky (Batkivshchyna Party) and Volodymyr
   Chekalin (Communist Party).

   The approved law differs from the bill submitted by the government in that
   it licensing will apply only to CDs with recordings, i.e. involving
   copyrights and related rights. The bill also does not apply to CDs
   transited via Ukraine, or imported and exported by individuals for their
   own use, or those sent by international mail.

   Unlike the government version, random checks of enterprises producing CDs
   can be carried out only following authors' written appeals about
   infringements on their copyrights. The bill also imposes liabilities for
   false claims by authors about infringements on their copyrights.

   On December 21, 2001, the United States Government announced that it was
   placing prohibitive tariffs on $75 million worth of metals, footwear, and
   other imports from Ukraine because of its failure to enact legislation to
   crack down on sound recording and optical media piracy. The sanctions will
   offset United States government estimates of the amount of annual damages
   that this piracy of optical media (CDs, CD-ROMs, DVDs, etc.), which
   includes unauthorized licensing and production, has caused to Americans.
   These sanctions came into force on January 23.

   According to USA, Ukraine's exports of unauthorized compact discs (CDs)
   are disrupting markets. For over two years, the United States has been
   urging Ukraine to take measures to stop this piracy and prevent its
   recurrence. Despite the commitments Ukraine made as part of the June 2000
   U.S.-Ukraine Joint Action Plan to Combat Optical Media Piracy in Ukraine,
   the Ukrainian Government has failed to curtail the piracy. Credible
   reports indicate that large volumes of optical media products continue to
   be pirated in Ukraine.




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