The EU “road map” requires more radical reforms from Ukraine than in Georgia
Moscow - Kyiv, June 20 (Navigator, Mikhail Stamm) - A draft “road map” for the association of the EU and Ukraine has been published, the economic part of which is planned to be signed on June 27. Ukraine must reform everything, and in a time frame several times shorter than that required by the new EU countries.
Subscribe to Navigator Kyiv news on Facebook , Odnoklassniki , or VKontakte
The draft roadmap for the reform agenda consists of nine sections devoted to political processes, economic support, trade and its administration, agriculture, justice and anti-corruption, entrepreneurship and energy, transport, education, science and innovation. Based on the text, most EU initiatives are internal reforms.
The constitutional reform includes decentralization of power and “delegation of a significant part of presidential powers to territorial communities and local councils.” Local and judicial authorities will also be reformed. Powers to solve “the lion’s share of problems” will be transferred to the localities, including issues of language policy and the use of the Russian language.
There will be reform of the civil service, police sector and security agencies. Cooperation between Ukraine and the EU is outlined in the area of combating corruption, primarily in government construction contracts, “corporate raiding” and managing the VAT administration system.
Among the “economic support” measures there is a clause on special EU programs in the southeast, including investments by the EIB bank and support in the war zone under the European programs TAIEX and Twinning.
“Regarding the consequences of the illegal annexation of Crimea” - it is assumed that “the rapid” implementation of “economic, trade and financial restrictions” in relation to the republic.
It is planned to synchronize the energy systems of the EU, Ukraine and Moldova within the framework of the European ENTSOE system. It is planned to “reform” Naftogaz, its contract with the European Eustream, gas reverse agreements with Hungary and Poland.
It is planned to eliminate technical barriers to mutual trade, bring Ukrainian technological and phytosanitary requirements to European ones, and equip laboratories.
Land reform is expected until 2018, standardizing the land market based on EU practices.
The section devoted to agriculture involves bringing the legislation on the turnover of agricultural land, cadastre and product quality requirements closer to the EC standards - already in 2014-2016. At the same time, Ukraine will have to abolish the system of permits for the import of livestock products, and the EC, “where possible,” will have to open the market for Ukrainian agricultural products.
Part of the plan is the reform of the energy market, the coal sector, the start of Ukraine’s integration into the European transport network TENT, and the implementation of the CAA aviation agreement.
In education, it is planned to immediately connect Ukraine to the European Erasmus+ program.
The “Road Map” assumes absolute dictatorship in carrying out reforms. The program looks larger and more intense than the Georgian reforms of 2005, Kommersant notes: the “new” EU members did almost the same thing, but several times slower.
The EU's "roadmap" requires Ukraine to undertake more radical reforms than Georgia.