Switzerland will help Ukraine carry out reforms

The Conference on Reforms in Ukraine was founded in 2017 and acts as a platform uniting Ukrainian and foreign statesmen, leading businessmen, representatives of the EU, NATO, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the G7 and civil society .

The Le Temps newspaper writes that the partners have not yet achieved much success, since during the presidency of Petro Poroshenko in Ukraine it was not possible to end the oligarchy, and soon after Vladimir Zelensky came to power, all reform plans were disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. Thus, the Swiss diplomats have to work hard. Swiss Special Ambassador Simon Pidou, who is responsible for coordinating the work of the conference, stressed that the Confederation will contribute to development, provide humanitarian assistance and establish peace processes.

The theme of the Fourth Conference was “Strong Ukraine in a strong European and Euro-Atlantic family”. According to Swiss experts, in Ukraine, first of all, it is necessary to reform the judiciary, since without this it will not be possible to reform other sectors. If the courts do not become impartial, then their work will undermine anti-corruption laws, which means a lack of protection for investments, in particular foreign ones. Will Switzerland at the head of the conference be able to influence one of the most corrupt political systems in Europe? Our Newspaper has written many times about corruption in the world in general and Ukraine in particular, as well as that in 2018 Ukraine ranked first on the planet in terms of fraud at work. We add that in the ranking of countries “Corruption Perceptions Index” for 2020, published by the international organization Transparency International, Ukraine was on the 117th line.

As for the above question, in this case the recipe is simple: it is necessary to provide financial assistance on specific conditions, since, according to the political scientist of the Federal Polytechnic School of Zurich Enrik Larsen, Ukrainian politicians listen to Western partners if they know that the receipt of funds can

The fifth conference on reforms in Ukraine will be held on July 4-5, 2022 in Lugano, the capital of the canton of Ticino. Speaking in Vilnius, Ignazio Cassis clarified that official preparations will begin with his visit to Kiev in October 2021. The Federal Adviser added that Switzerland intends to continue to provide strategic support to Ukraine in finding its path to a stable future. The politician noted that the efforts of many parties are needed to carry out consistent reforms, therefore the conference in Lugano will be inclusive.

The government alone cannot succeed, it is important to involve regional authorities, local governments, the private sector and citizens of Ukraine and the scientific community, Ignazio Cassis emphasized. Following the results of the 4th conference, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba said that attention to his country is not decreasing. He pointed out that applications have already been received from two states to host the conference in 2023 and one application in 2024. In previous years, the conference was held in London, Copenhagen and Toronto.

Addressing the participants of the 4th conference, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that since July 1, a full-fledged, transparent land market has opened in his country, ensuring the implementation of the constitutional right of citizens’ ownership of land. A 5-7-9% Affordable Loan Program was also launched, which promoted the development of small and medium-sized enterprises and helped businessmen cope with the difficulties in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Speaking about digitalization in Ukraine, the head of state said that on the Internet portal of public services “Diya” you can open a business from a computer or smartphone in a matter of minutes, obtain a building permit, register a newborn child, sign up for vaccinations and receive dozens of other public services. is noted on the official website of the President of Ukraine.

To preserve the ecology in Ukraine, a package of documents was adopted to create a system for monitoring, reporting and verifying greenhouse gas emissions. Paying special attention to Ukraine’s relations with the European Union, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that the share of trade with the EU today exceeded 40% of the total volume of Ukraine’s foreign trade. He also recalled that the rapprochement between his country and the EU should be a two-way road, and that it is necessary to “fix the European perspective of Ukraine.”

The website of the Swiss Foreign Ministry notes that the Fifth Conference will be held in the Confederation, is a reliable partner of Ukraine. Ignazio Cassis expects that the discussions and events that will take place in Ukraine and other countries until July 2022 will help to bring closer the implementation of the slogan “shared responsibility for shared prosperity”. How effective the work of Swiss politicians will be in this area, we will find out in a year.