Educational Activity
On January 26, a meeting took place between representatives of business associations that are members of the Ukrainian Business Council and representatives of the Government. APITU Director General Yuriy Perohanych also took part in it. The priorities for 2018 were discussed.
The meeting was opened by Anatoliy Dolynnyi, President of the Ukrainian Security Industry Federation, who listed the key issues that business representatives see as their priorities for 2018. "Among the priorities are institutional reform of the State Fiscal Service and customs, the creation of an analytical body for investigating financial fraud, liberalization of the market transaction registration system, simplification of business procedures, de-offshorization, etc.," Anatoliy Dolynnyi reminded. He noted that members of the Business Council plan to work actively on the implementation of these tasks, as well as other tasks important for the country, which will be agreed upon by the coalition during today's meeting.
Deputy Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine for European Integration Viktor Dovhyi focused on the need for changes in transport legislation and agrologistics: "We expect that transport legislation will change, as 5 blocks of draft laws have been developed today: on railway transport, road transport (its market access, compensation, and technical component); on inland transport (namely river transport, dredging of the upper part of the Dnieper, etc.). And the last block of laws is on the safe transport of goods. "We will punish overloading more severely: 64 weighing complexes are already available in all regions. They will start working with the beginning of the season," the Deputy Minister noted. The ministry has created a General Directorate of State Policy in the field of digital infrastructure in transport and postal services, which is headed by Oleksandr Ozeran.
Yana Buhrimova, Advisor to the Minister of Finance of Ukraine and Head of the Ministry of Finance Reform Office, explained the situation with the SFS reform. The reform consists of several elements: changing the vision and philosophy of the SFS, setting up new work processes, and working with human resources. Last year, the Ministry of Finance defined an action plan for SFS reform, consisting of 19 points, a roadmap, and the necessary business processes. The plan is currently almost ready and is scheduled for approval by the Cabinet of Ministers. "We tried to gather donor support, we agreed with EU and Canadian donors to fund temporary teams," the Minister's advisor explained. "The operational part is important for this reform." Yana Buhrimova also reported that the Ministry of Finance is preparing a draft of amendments to the Customs Code of Ukraine to bring it into compliance with the EU Customs Code.
Mykola Vyhovskyi, a representative of the Center UA organization, took part in the conversation and spoke about the specifics of the reform of Ukraine's electoral system, about the draft of the new Electoral Code, which was adopted in the first reading and the implementation of which will allow for elections to be held using open lists. He invited the business community to analyze the relevant regulatory acts and facilitate the adoption of this important project this year.
Director of the Customs Policy Department of the Ministry of Finance Oleksandr Moskalenko said that the implementation of European best practices in customs, Customs Blueprints, is Ukraine's obligation under the Association Agreement. The Customs Reform Action Plan, which contains 19 areas, is published on the Ministry of Finance website. It is currently being updated and approved by a Cabinet of Ministers order. This year, the Ministry of Finance is preparing a draft of amendments to the Customs Code of Ukraine to bring it into compliance with the EU Customs Code.
The meeting participants welcomed the new, 64th member of the Ukrainian Business Council – the All-Ukrainian Association of Importers of Meat and Meat Products, which joined the "Ukrainian Business Council" coalition of business associations in January 2018.
During the two-hour discussion, representatives of business and government discussed the proposals made and agreed on cooperation and regular meetings throughout 2018.
See also:
