Yanukovych Defends Ukraine EU Trade Pact as Competitiveness Lags

Discussion in 'Russia & Eastern Europe' started by SAUER, Nov 6, 2013.

  1. SAUER

    SAUER New Member

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    Ukraine needs a free trade agreement with the European Union to help the eastern European nation kickstart the economy and regain competitiveness on global markets, President Viktor Yanukovych said.

    “By choosing to get closer to the European Union, we are making a pragmatic choice for optimal and rational modernization,” Yanukovych said at the World Economic Forum in Kiev today. Ukraine has 10 years before it exhausts its competitive advantages in producing steel and chemicals, its chief exports, Yanukovych said.

    Ukraine is due to sign an association agreement that includes a free trade pact with the 28-member EU this month. Russia is threatening to impose sanctions on its neighbor if Ukraine snubs Moscow’s customs union with Belarus and Kazakhstan and proceeds with the deal.

    Ukraine’s economy entered its third recession since 2008 in the third quarter after weaker global demand for its exports of steel and chemicals battered industry. Faced with a widening current account gap and trade restrictions from Russia, gross domestic product fell 0.4 percent in third quarter from the previous three months.

    An agreement with the EU is the right match for Ukraine given its current stage of development, Yanukovych said, adding that the former Soviet republic needs to revive economic growth and boost its appeal to investors.
    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-...ne-eu-trade-pact-as-competitiveness-lags.html
     
  2. litwin

    litwin Well-Known Member

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    he has a point bu no oil, gas so we will see
     
  3. SAUER

    SAUER New Member

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    It seems that Yanukovych can miss a good chance to milk Resource Federation as do Alexander “Bat’ka” Lukashenko, Kyrgyzstan and some other friends of Russia. The practice says that the rhetoric about “allied state”, “sister nations - bratushki” “Eurasianism” etc can bring money and some other benefits because some top Russians still have a sort of imperial phantom pain.
    :wink:
     
  4. SAUER

    SAUER New Member

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    Ukraine’s national oil and gas company Naftogaz has reportedly completely stopped buying gas from Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned energy company Interfax news reported, citing the Fuel and Energy Dispatch Center.

    In October, Naftogaz received 3.2 billion cubic meters of gas from Gazprom, about 104 million cubic meters per day. In November, purchases have nearly halved, dropping to about 9 million cubic meters each day. On November the 8th operations were completely suspended.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his counterpart Viktor Yanukovich on Saturday, but there is no official communiqué on their meeting, or if they discussed gas.

    Earlier in October Naftogaz said it had 17 billion cubic meters of gas in storage, which they believe will be enough to heat Ukraine through the winter.

    Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Boyko announced that Ukraine plans to taper Russian gas purchases.

    Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said that if Gazprom refuses to revise its contract, Ukraine would stop importing gas from Russia.

    In a step away from energy dependence on Russia, last week Ukraine signed a $10 billion shale gas deal with Chevron.

    Last month Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller demanded the "immediate" payment of $882 million for gas provided to Kiev. The debt had reached $1.4 billion, which Miller called a “critical” level. Miller also said if the debt wasn't paid, they would have to stop pre-pay deliveries.

    Former Ukraine Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko signed a ‘pre-pay’ contract with Gazprom in 2009 and was later jailed on charges of abuse of power.

    Since the ‘pre-pay’ contract was established, Ukraine has excessively complained of ‘expensive’ gas prices, which average around $400 per 1000 cubic meters for Russian gas, one of the highest prices in Europe.

    Ukraine is speeding up its effort to diversify its supply, and has looked at different exporters, fracking, new offshore projects in the Black Sea, as well as new LNG terminals and pipelines to diversify supply.

    Ukraine imports more than half of its gas from Russia, but under Viktor Yanukovich’s leadership, has intentionally scaled down Gazprom imports 40 percent over ‘unfair prices’.

    Ukraine’s is close to signing a EU trade association agreement in Vilnius in late November, a move which could trigger a new series of trade and gas wars with Russia.

    Russia and Ukraine waged two gas wars over prices in the winters of 2006 and 2009 (which lasted 3 weeks) over a claim Ukraine was late in paying.
    Debt and Downgrades

    Ukraine’s depreciating currency reserves and massive deficit have put it close to economic collapse, and an IMF bailout of between $10-15 billion seems more and more likely.

    Ukraine’s government reserves are so depleted they may no longer be able to keep Naftogaz afloat, and may be forced to find a foreign buyer.

    The worsening outlook has prompted the big three rating agencies to downgrade their outlook on Ukraine.

    Fitch downgraded Ukraine’s long-term foreign local currency issuer default rating to ‘B-‘ from ‘B’ following S&P’s announcement to downgrade their debt rating to ‘B-‘ to the same junk level as Greece and Cyprus. Moody’s cut its Caa1 rating to Caa1 from B3 in September putting them at “very high default risk”.

    US money manager Franklin Templeton has picked up $5 billion of Ukraine’s international debt, nearly a fifth, the Financial Times reported.

    Russia’, which holds a significant portion of Ukraine’s sovereign national debt, wants to dissuade it from signing an EU associate membership in Vilnius on November 28-29; a top Putin aid calling it 'trade suicide’.

    EU ministers were in Kiev this past week and met with parliament leaders over the possible release of Tymoshenko from prison, an almost certain condition for Ukraine to sign in Vilnius. EU officials convene on November 18 ahead of the summit to decide if Kiev has met enough criteria to sign.
    http://rt.com/business/ukraine-naftogaz-stopped-gazprom-536/
     
  5. spt5

    spt5 New Member

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    Do the people of The Ukraine want to join the European Union?
     
  6. EvilAztec

    EvilAztec Banned

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    They will not do that stupidness joining to EU, they are don't. Ivan is easy to make a deal with Ivan then Ivan have business with Jhon.
     
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  7. litwin

    litwin Well-Known Member

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    is Kyrgyzstan Russian friend? and "sister nations " is populistic BS , Ukraine is too big i dont know how it can pull it off such a plans
     
  8. SAUER

    SAUER New Member

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    According to some opinion polls about 50% of Ukrainians want to join the European Union, but we have to realize that there are some important factors to be considered. For example many young Ukrainians/ local nationalists/ people from western regions do want to join the EU but many people from eastern regions/ local communists/ fans of a rapprochement between Russia and Ukraine disapprove of this move.
     
  9. AfraTamam

    AfraTamam Newly Registered

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    Ukraine needs a free trade agreement with the European Union to help the eastern European nation kickstart the economy and regain competitiveness on global markets, President Viktor Yanukovych said.

    “By choosing to get closer to the European Union, we are making a pragmatic choice for optimal and rational modernization,” Yanukovych said at the World Economic Forum in Kiev today. Ukraine has 10 years before it exhausts its competitive advantages in producing steel and chemicals, its chief exports, Yanukovych said.
     
  10. SAUER

    SAUER New Member

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    Yes it seems that Kyrgyzstan is a good friend of RF. >
    http://users.livejournal.com/_devol_/801815.html
    in my view too grotesque article but…:)

    It reminds me a friendship between USSR and some sister nations from the third world.
    http://www.politicalforum.com/showthread.php?t=280029

    p.s.


    Russia leases planes to Cuba, writes off Soviet debt.
    Moscow will write off part of the $30 billion debt and will offer a 10-year refinancing plan for the remaining amount
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...91L04J20130222


    This is not Pushkin style but an author of this poem really got a bull’s eye.
    [​IMG]

    I agree. But some post-Soviet leaders (for example Luka) like to cry about it, especially when they want more benefits from RF
    :)
     
  11. litwin

    litwin Well-Known Member

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    they all product of soviet system , gas oil oil gas, woods , water ...simple businesses
     
  12. spt5

    spt5 New Member

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    Well, in this case, how realistic is it to divide the Ukraine into 3 countries, East-Of-Kiev-Ukraine, Gallician-Lviv-West-Ukraine, and Karpathian-Ukraine? The latter two can then join the EU?
     
  13. SAUER

    SAUER New Member

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    I doubt that it will happen soon. However some ppl do believe that it is a good alternative and 2or 3 Ukraines are better than 1 Ukraine :)
     
  14. litwin

    litwin Well-Known Member

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    a good idea, and Indonesia into 30 or so ? ps Kiev is much more west then east

    - - - Updated - - -

    the western parts will do much better for sure, but they will suffer mentally so baldly so...
     
  15. SAUER

    SAUER New Member

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    In my view this is a very very moot point. The Eastern Ukraine’s industrial sector stronger than Western Ukraine one + the Eastern Ukraine has some other advantages.
     
  16. litwin

    litwin Well-Known Member

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    which is useless with out USSR , who will/want to buy it?
     
  17. SAUER

    SAUER New Member

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    But Ukraine’s metallurgy (Donetsk, Lugansk, Dnepropetrovsk - Eastern Ukraine) is a basic industry of the national economy of Ukraine and give more than 25 % of the industrial production + about 40 % of foreign exchange earnings. In my view it is a pretty good achievement.
     
  18. litwin

    litwin Well-Known Member

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    those numbers say nothing , again such a huge industrial production is the huge problem for U. U. is the is the richest(human capital, climate, geography, size , etc.) country in Europe but , it has lowest GDP per capita
     
  19. SAUER

    SAUER New Member

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    These figures say that Eastern Ukraine’s potential stronger than Western Ukraine one.
    Maybe something wrong with local richest human capital because despite all these things - climate, geography, size, etc. they still have pretty bad GPD? :wink:
     
  20. litwin

    litwin Well-Known Member

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    i see, you have slept through your time in an university ;) I talk yesterday to one French guy who works many years in tractor business he said belarus tractors effectiveness (price - quality ) 40% higher then everything what he can buy in France . and he said that's why EU will never allow this export. and that's why west doesn't allow Ukraine to export profitable products into EU. Ukraine have had unique industries which could turn world economy up side out , do you think France or Germany, Japan want it?
    Russia is an other story "custom union"/EAEC are pure imperial projects which has nothing to do with economics , if U starts to suck Moscow like Armenia , Belarus, or Chechnya Russia ´d collapse much like USSR did
     
  21. litwin

    litwin Well-Known Member

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    no its just a competitor world we live in. no one needs a new France in the south eastern part of Europe
     
  22. litwin

    litwin Well-Known Member

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    [video=youtube;ByyG_Z15TiM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByyG_Z15TiM[/video]

    [​IMG]
     
  23. SAUER

    SAUER New Member

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    Negative. Coffee with cognac was a good sort of doping. :)

    Hahaha it reminds me statements (dreams) of some Ukrainians in the late 1980s and early 1990s. – “Ukraine will become European Canada when we will get an independence!” “Stop feeding the silly, lazy and drunk big brother – Muscovites!” etc but … :)

    As for Eastern Ukraine vs Western Ukraine.
    Maybe this is too grotesque example but it reminds me the situation with Russia and Ukraine after the disintegration of the USSR. We can see that Ukraine still can’t become “European Canada” but Russia’s GPD is better than Ukrainian one and Russia is obviously a lot wealthier than Ukraine because Russia’s industrial sector is stronger than Ukraine’s industrial sector and Russia has more resources than Ukraine. And after the disintegration of the USSR a lot of gastarbeiters and working girls from independent Ukraine moved to Russia. Take Eastern Ukraine instead of Russia and Western Ukraine instead of Ukraine there is a strong possibility that we will see the same situation after their divorce. :)



    [​IMG]

    Yes, protectionism rules. However sometimes “newcomers” can occupy a fitting place>
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Asian_Tigers
    I hope that some countries from Eastern Europe will take the lead too… one day :)
     
  24. SAUER

    SAUER New Member

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    it seems that Yanukovich reads this thread.
     
  25. KGB agent

    KGB agent Well-Known Member

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    [​IMG]
     
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