Poroshenko: MPs shouldn't have absolute parliamentary immunity
On the 9th of February, at a meeting with employees of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, the President of Ukraine stated that MPs don't need absolute parliamentary immunity.
“I didn’t wait until the People’s Deputies took the initiative to develop draft constitutional amendments concerning the revocation of parliamentary immunity. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine voted in favor of it and for sending it to the Constitutional Court. Then, they became very busy and they didn’t have the …
Traffic blocked in Crimea due to transport of Russian military equipment
In the Crimean city of Simferopol, traffic was blocked for 40 minutes on Thursday due to the transport of Russian military equipment. The column of military hardware was being transported from Sevastopol to Belogorsk, reported Krym.Realii.
The column of equipment from Russia's Black Sea Fleet included armored fighting vehicles, KAMAZ cars for personnel transport, Ural vehicles, and field kitchens.
Since the annexation of Crimea, the movement of Russian military equipment on the peninsula has …
IMF Recommends that Ukraine Raise Excise Tax on Alcohol and Tobacco
By increasing the excise tax on cigarettes and beer, Ukraine will add approximately UAH 28.7 billion and UAH 4.5 billion to its budget, respectively in 2016, as stated in a report by the International Monetary Fund. The text of this report was made available to the Ukrainian news agency UKRINFORM.
Based on the IMF estimates, by increasing the excise tax on tobacco by 40% Ukraine would receive an income of UAH 28.7 billion (1.3% of GDP) this year. Raising the excise tax on beer by 100% would …
US proposes spending nearly $1 Billion to support democracy in former Soviet states in 2017
According to President Obama's budget plan for 2017, $953 million will be allocated to the US State Department to support democratic societies and develop anti-corruption programs in Russia’s neighboring countries.
As reported by the media citing officials, the money is allocated under the article “to deter Russian aggression using public diplomacy and aid programs, and to establish sustainable government in Europe”.
“It refers to anti-corruption programs, establishing energy security …
Ukrainian Ambassador to Czech Republic demands that a map depicting Crimea as part of Russia be fixed
The Ukrainian Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Boris Zaychuk, demanded that the Czech publisher, Ottovo Nakladatelství, rectify a map of Ukraine in their “World Atlas of Football” edition in order for it to be in accordance with national law.
“In this atlas, Crimea is colored the same as Russia. In addition, the general map of the world in this edition does not show Crimea as a part of Ukraine. Therefore, the map violates international law and ignores the consolidated position of the EU …