Plans to tackle Ukraine economy set to be published

Ambitious new ideas on how to solve Ukraine's war-torn economy are due out this month. They are expected to include a political solution to the Ukraine crisis via the Minsk agreement, credit lines for Ukraine from the EU and Russia and a common economic space from Lisbon to Vladivostok negotiated by the EU and Eurasian Union. 

The policy recommendations are expected to be tabled by Agency for the Modernisation of Ukraine (AMU), an initiative spearheaded by the  Ukrainian businessman Dmitry Firtash which aims to restart growth and lift Ukraine from its status as the former Soviet bloc's worst performing economy. Launched in Vienna in March this year, the self-styled "Marshall Plan for Ukraine" gave itself 200 days come up with a master plan to attract some 300bn US dollars for the beleaguered country.  Senior British politician Lord Richard Risby who with Firtash is one of three co-founders of the AMU and is also chair of the British Ukranian Society, has made a robust defence of the agency, which was set up to help reconstruct war-torn Ukraine.

Risby said: "This a noble cause and offers Ukraine some ray of humanity during its troubles. All of us involved are dedicated to helping the country by improving law enforcement, introducing anti-corruption measures, improving health and trade in the country.”

Some, however, have labelled the AMU as a mere "PR exercise", including Polish MEP Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, a former government minister in Poland and ex chairman of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, who told this website: "The AMU project seems to be a PR project which potentially can be used to criticize Ukrainian authorities for lack of actions and lack of implementation of projects prepared by European politicians."

The British peer points out that the Ukrainian President Petro Poroschenko has backed the plan which Risby, former deputy spokesman for Foreign Affairs for the Conservative Party, sees as an "important signal" regarding Ukraine’s entry into the European future and an "alternative to reigning violence and destruction." “It is also a strong sign of European solidarity," added Risby, a former vice chairman of the Tory Party. "We believe that Russia also wants stability in the region and will support the plan."

Other key figures involved include Lord Macdonald, a former director of public prosecutions in the UK, who is leading reforms for law-enforcement in the country along with Bernard-Henri Levy, the French philosopher, and Karl-Georg Wellman, the German politician. The AMU is also backed by the Trade Unions of Ukraine – which represents 70% of the private sector of the country - and the Federation of Employers.The imminent publication of the agency's much-awaited proposals come at a critical time for the country's war-ravaged economy.

Ukraine's GDP shrank by 17.6% in the first quarter of this year and inflation skyrocketed to 60.9 per cent year-on-year, pushing the poverty rate up by 30%. Firtash – who negotiated the first big gas deal between Ukraine and Russia nearly 10 years ago – is seen by many as an influential go-between in relations between the Kremlin and Kiev and potential future candidate for prime minister in Ukraine.

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