How the COVID-19 pandemic will develop in Ukraine. OSW Commentary NUMBER 323 27.03.2020

According to data compiled by Ukraine’s Ministry of Health, by 27 March more than 200 cases of COVID-19 were confirmed nationwide, with five fatalities. However, there is a risk of the epidemic soon developing on a much larger scale. This is due to the high daily increase in the number of infections diagnosed, the unpreparedness and inefficiency of the healthcare sector, the shortage of medical equipment, the ongoing dispute in the Ministry of Health, and the organisational and financial weakness of the Ukrainian state combined with of the ruling elite’s limited experience of governance. At the present stage, the possible consequences of the pandemic are difficult to forecast. However, it is certain that Ukraine will see a deep recession (the most optimistic forecasts spell a 5% drop in Ukraine’s GDP in 2020)

Ukraine's cooperation with the IMF - unfulfilled hopes for deeper reforms. OSW Commentary No. 52, 2011-06-15

The Party of Regions took power in early 2010, after Ukraine had been plunged deep in economic crisis. Over the next year, with the external markets recovering, the country’s economic situation started to improve gradually. Ukraine’s economic stabilisation was also strengthened by its resumed cooperation with the International Monetary Fund, which provided for a loan worth $15.1 billion. The issuing of successive tranches of the loan was made dependent on the implementation of a comprehensive reform programme. The cooperation went quite smoothly at first; however, as the economic situation in Ukraine improved, the reformist zeal of the Ukrainian government started to fade, and obstacles began piling up. As a result, Ukraine was refused the third tranche, scheduled for this March, and for the moment the credit line remains frozen. Even though the IMF has numerous reservations about the Ukrainian government’s economic policy, the fundamental condition for resuming cooperation is reform of the pension system, which the parliament should adopt. The difficulties with fulfilling the obligations made to the IMF reflect the wider problem with implementing reforms in Ukraine, as the Party of Regions promised after taking power. Changes which do not affect the interests of influential lobbies are quite easy to carry out. Often, however, these changes are not conducive to the economy’s liberalisation; moreover, the influential lobbies are successful in blocking reforms that could harm their businesses. Another impediment to the changes is that some reforms are likely to bring about painful social consequences, and that can affect public support for the ruling group. Even though theoretically possible, it does not seem likely that Ukraine’s cooperation with the IMF will be terminated. But even if this cooperation is continued, deeper reforms in Ukraine are likely to be postponed until after the parliamentary elections in autumn 2012

Etching and Passivation Downstream of an O2-CF4-Ar Microwave Plasma

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The role of trade unions in sport - the essence, features and perspectives

Trade unions play an important role in organizing activities in the field of labour law, although some representatives of the doctrine believe that the ruling powers of trade unions are in fact administrative in nature. The role of trade unions is important in all sectors of the economy, including sports. In many European countries, trade unions in sport play a key role in ensuring that players’ right are respected. The potential of trade unions in Poland is still not fully used. The aim of this article is to analyse the role of trade unions in sport by determining their features and perspectives, in particular taking into account the extension of the subjective scope of the coalition right after the amendment to the Trade Unions Act. The deliberations will lead to an answer to the question: Is it finally time for trade unions in the professional sport sector or is it still a distant perspective? The article uses the dogmatic and legal method, and also indicates foreign solutions in relation to the comparative method. The considerations present legal solutions in the USA, England and the Netherlands. The deliberations concern both labor law and sports law. The main conclusion from the conducted research is that there are formal and legal possibilities for trade unions to play a more important role in the medium and long term, however, there is no specific entity or group of entities that would be really interested in their development, both among the athletes themselves as well as in sports clubs and Polish sports associations or the Ministry of Sport

Lessons from Sichuan for Haitian Survivors

China has just sent its second medical team to Haiti, along with 20 tons of supplies and five Chinese peacekeepers to replace the four who died in the earthquake that destroyed Port-au-Prince on January 12th. The current group replaces a set of Chinese International Search and Rescue workers and sniffer dogs who arrived in Haiti the day after the disaster struck

A UAW Fight for Product Quality

[Excerpt] Blytheville, Arkansas, a Bible belt community in a Right-to-Work state, is an unlikely site for a major labor dispute. But for almost a decade, it has witnessed a bitter struggle between an auto supply company and a small UAW local. UAW 1249\u27s fight to win a contract is significant because of its persistence and because of the innovative tactics it has employed. Emphasizing the relationship between product quality and job security, UAW Local 1249 mounted an internal organizing campaign that focused on the company\u27s long-standing indifference to quality control. This campaign could serve as a model for other local unions looking for ways to fight mismanagement

The act on the land market – a key step towards the development of Ukrainian agriculture. OSW Commentary 2020-06-24.

On 28 April, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the Act on introducing an agricultural land market in Ukraine. The document envisages that the moratorium on the sale of agricultural land will be partially lifted on 1 July 2021 and entirely lifted from 2024. As a consequence, for the first time in the history of independent Ukraine, the free trade of agricultural land will be allowed. However, foreigners and even Ukrainian companies foreign shareholders will not have the right to buy land until a nation-wide referendum concerning this issue has been held. Regardless of certain reservations as to the wording of the act, the fact that it has been passed is a breakthrough moment for Ukraine. These reservations for example relate to the risk that antitrust provisions may be bypassed and also to the need to enact a number of laws and to implement acts regulating the practical operation of the land market. It should not be expected that major changes in the ownership structure of agricultural land will happen on a large scale by 2024. However, the act will have far-reaching consequences for Ukrainian agriculture in the mid- and long-term perspective. It will enable increased production and facilitate development in those sectors which are currently underinvested. It is also expected to improve the position of small and medium-sized agricultural companies[1] at the cost of big agricultural holdings and to boost the status of Ukraine as one of global leaders in the production of foodstuffs

Dark clouds over the Ukrainian gas market reform. OSW Commentary NUMBER 251 | 04.10.2017

In September, three out of five members of the supervisory board of Naftogaz, Ukraine’s largest gas company, announced their resignation and accused the government of stepping up political interference in the company’s activity and blocking measures aimed at reforming the company. This represents yet another instance of the fight for control over Naftogaz and its profit-making subsidiaries, Ukrgazvydobuvannya (which extracts over 70% of Ukraine’s gas) and Ukrtransgaz (the transit pipeline and gas storage facilities operator), which has been gaining momentum in recent months. On one side of the dispute lies what is broadly understood as the ruling camp (the surrounding of the president and the prime minister), while the other side is the pro-reform management of Naftogaz, headed by Andriy Kobolev and backed by Western institutions

From stabilisation to stagnation. Viktor Yanukovych's reforms. OSW Point of View Number 32, March 2013

After winning the 2010 presidential election, Viktor Yanukovych and his government developed an ambitious and comprehensive programme of reforms across key areas of social and political life. The return to a presidential system of government created the ideal conditions for the introduction of deep reforms: it allowed Viktor Yanukovych to consolidate more power than any other Ukrainian president before him.The authorities launched an overhaul of the tax and the pension systems, and of the Ukrainian gas sector. Kyiv also completed its negotiations on an Association Agreement with the EU and on a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area. However, the reformist zeal of Ukraine’s political elite progressively diminished as the parliamentary election approached, the economy slowed down, and the polls showed a decline in support for the ruling Party of Regions. Many of the reforms still remain in the planning stages, and in many areas the government has moved backwards. Viktor Yanukovych has proved unable to make systemic changes, and has increasingly used his powers to crush political opposition in Ukraine. The outcome of the latest parliamentary elections prevents the formation of a stable parliamentary majority, which in turn, removes any chance of reform before the 2015 presidential ballot