Ukraine parliament to approve IMF-required law on Thursday, president says

Ukraine’s parliament should approve on July 12 the
amendments to the law on the High Anti-Corruption Court being demanded by
Western institutions, including the IMF, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko
told the press conference at the Ukraine-EU summit in Brussels on July 9. The
amendments would enable the anti-corruption court to review appeals on cases
already ruled upon by Ukraine’s regular courts. The summit’s joint statement
called upon Ukraine’s parliament to approve the amendments.

The heads of state repeated numerous prior
declarations in their joint statement, including the need for upholding
anti-corruption indicators to extend the EU visa-free regime for Ukraine,
changes to the income and asset e-declaration system for state employees, and
maintaining the functioning of Ukraine’s natural gas transit system after 2019,
among other priorities. The joint statement also reiterated the recognition of
acts of aggression by the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine since February 2014.

Zenon Zawada: We expect
the amendments to be approved this week in line with the president’s
expectations. The bigger challenge for the next IMF loan tranche remains
implementing the natural gas price hikes. We expect close cooperation between
Ukraine and the EU – including EU support for sanctions against Russia – for
another four years.