Reshuffle in the trilateral contact group, privatization of state-owned distillery factory, and new parliamentary schedule: decisions by President and MPs

Today in our digest: the President makes personnel changes in the TCG and sells a distillery; the Parliament postpones its plenary meetings due to the COVID-19.

Decision-maker: the President.

Who is affected: Ukrainian citizens, diplomats, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Cabinet, and the President.

What does it change: Vitold Fokin has been removed from the Ukrainian delegation to the trilateral contact group and dismissed as the first deputy head of the delegation.

Why this is important: Vitold Fokin represented Ukraine in the trilateral contact group. Thus, all controversial statements that he made as a public official could have been interpreted as the official position of the state. To dismiss Fokin as a negotiator after he publicly contradicted the state’s position was a proper decision.

Decision-maker: the President.

Who is affected: the President, the State Management of Affairs, and the State Property Fund.

What does it change: the State Management of Affairs will transfer its ownership of a state company Zhytomyr Liquor & Vodka Distillery Factory [Zhytomyrskyi likero-horilchanyi zavod] to the State Property Fund, and the latter will sell the company.

What is right: the company is a non-core asset, and the state supports it from the government budget. The decision to sell the company will cut budget losses and will bring some profit.

What is wrong:

• the State Management of Affairs is an institution under the President and gets its funding from the government budget. It manages educational establishments, state companies, President’s residences, etc. In its present state, its existence is unconstitutional because the President can create only advisory, consultative, and other auxiliary bodies
• the State Management of Affairs manages more than 20 state companies, 2 educational establishments, 5 medical establishments, and 7 cultural establishments.

Decision-maker: the Parliament.

Who is affected: MPs, their assistants, the apparatus of the Verkhovna Rada, and Ukrainian citizens.

What does it change: in October, the Parliament will hold only one plenary meeting (on October 20). The rest of the time MPs will work in committees and with voters. The next regular plenary week will start at the beginning of November.

Why this is important: according to the Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada Dmytro Razumkov, within the last few days near 10 MPs had been diagnosed with COVID-19.

What is wrong: because of the war and coronavirus pandemic, MPs should be able to gather for a plenary meeting on short notice, but the resolution does not include a recommendation for MPs to stay in Kyiv during the time they are supposed to work with their voters and in committees.

The Parliament has adopted a protest against “local elections” conducted in the occupied Crimea (4109). For more details, please check our previous digest.