Opinion

Reforms in Ukraine

As a Ukrainian Ambassador, I can’t turn a blind eye to the publications in the foreign press, Finnish in particular, with criticism vis-à-vis reforms in Ukraine.

If a criticism is constructive, it only helps a country to understand its mistakes in implementing reforms.

But I can clearly see that many of the time such criticism is one-sided and doesn’t present the whole picture. What is more, in this age of hybrid warfare, Russia avails itself of any opportunity to knowingly misinterpret any information which concerns Ukraine covering up its ongoing aggression against my country.  

For that I decided to present to the Finnish readers some facts. The text is rather lengthy and detailed but it clearly refutes the notion that Ukraine is lagging behind in implementing reforms.  

Just over the past 3 months, Ukraine has made considerable progress in its European path by launching reforms in many critical sectors such as education, the judiciary, the pension system, healthcare, public administration, cybersecurity and electoral law.

• Judicial reform

On 3 October, the Ukrainian Parliament adopted a bill enabling the relaunch of the Supreme Court. The new Supreme Court of Ukraine is being set up anew through open and transparent competition and with active participation of civil society.

Anticorruption Court. The relevant Parliamentary Working Group is expected to present, by the end of the year, the draft bill which should comply with the recent Venice Commission recommendations. In order to speed up the process the President of Ukraine addressed the Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament.

• Privatization

On 9 November, the Parliament adopted the draft law of Ukraine "On privatization of the State Property". The Law is in line with Ukraine’s commitments to the IMF and makes the privatisation process more transparent, swifter and more secure for potential investors. 

• Electoral code

On November 7, the Parliament adopted the draft of a new Electoral Code. The draft envisages:

-        Introduction of a system of regional open lists at the parliamentary elections;

-        Updated general principles for conducting elections, and role and responsibilities of election commissions and procedures for maintaining the State Voters Register.

• Education reform

On September 25, 2017, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko signed the Law “On Education”, passed by the Parliament on 5 September 2017. This provides foundation for a comprehensive and systemic school reform.

• Pension reform

Adopted by the Parliament on October 3, the reform introduces a completely new system that foresees, in particular, the introduction of an accumulation pension system from 2018.

• Health care reform

Ukrainian parliament, on 19 October, passed the Law introducing the long-awaited medical reform.

• Cybersecurity

On October 5, the Parliament adopted the draft Law “On main principles of the provision of cyber-security of Ukraine”. For the first time, the Law details definitions of issues such as cyber-attack, cyber-security, cyber-threats indexes, or critically-important infrastructure objects.

• Electronic Trust services

On October 5, the Parliament passed a draft Law on electronic Trust Services that is in line with EU and international digital standards.

• International Financial Reporting Standards

On October 30, President Petro Poroshenko signed the Law “On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine «On Accounting and Financial Reporting in Ukraine»”, one of Ukraine’s commitments under the Association Agreement with the EU. General requirements as well as the procedure for provision and disclosure of financial reports are improved.

• Public administration reform

In September Ukraine has launched the second stage of public administration reform. The main purpose of the reform is to improve the quality of civil service and public administration in Ukraine.

• The 4G-standard services introduction in Ukraine

On November 7, the National Commission for the State Regulation of Communications and Informatization adopted a decision to organize a tender for 4G mobile licenses. The first tender is scheduled for 23 January 2018. 

Last but not least: I am not sure that the Finnish readers realize how transparent is the Ukrainian system of declaration of assets by the Ukrainian public servants. The system provides that ANYONE can log on to the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption web-side and see the information of the assets of ALL government official in Ukraine, including my declaration.

There’s a long road ahead but Ukraine has no intention of slowing the pace of reforms, despite the challenges posed by Russian aggression.

 

Andrii Olefirov
Ambassador of Ukraine to Finland

 

«Iltalehti»,