The war caught Ukrainian customs in the process of reform. Before the war, the customs service in Ukraine was reformed in several stages. Some results have been achieved, although the main challenges, corruption, and inconsistent regulatory enforcement, still need to be overcome.
In this episode, we talk about how the war in Ukraine has changed French foreign and security policy in Europe, what are the prospects for Ukraine to join the EU and NATO, and whether the center of power in the EU has shifted to the East
Estonia’s e-Governance Academy (eGA) is leading a digital transformation project in Ukraine that will improve the efficiency, security and access to public services for citizens and businesses. The project will develop services for the government e-service app Diia, improve data exchange between registers and service providers and further develop eID infrastructure.
While work on Estonia’s newly drafted National Security Concept began before the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) says that the changed security situation has made its adoption all the more pressing.
Everyone should understand the meaning of the word “cost”. You can try avoiding expenses, but costs will still come, one day. What is happening in Georgia now is very much about neglecting the meaning of the word “cost” by politicians, mainly in the West. However, costs cannot disappear through wishful thinking. Current decision makers may try to hide from them, but they may return at a higher rate.
We pay too little global attention to what is happening in China. The Communist Party persistently continues the policy of a restrictive lockdown in response to COVID for over 2.5 years. Funnily enough, this policy is probably an ideal dream for many opinion leaders in Poland, given their position just a few months ago. But seriously, in the Chinese authoritarian system, this sanitary regime is more violent than anywhere else in the democratic world.
In this episode, we talk about experiencing the first days of the Russian invasion in Ukraine as a journalist, changing social moods, resilience of the Ukrainian fighters, possible scenarios for the end of the war, and about why it is crucial for the West to support the Ukrainian cause.
Ukraine has introduced numerous reforms between 2014-2019, which support macro-financial sustainability of the country. As a result, even during COVID-19, Ukraine went stronger with debt-to-GDP ratio at about 50%, sound banking system, improved corporate governance and higher openness and transparency. This helped Ukraine to remain resilient since the beginning of full-scale invasion by Russia.
Millions of people and thousands of businesses in Ukraine remain without electricity every day due to damage to infrastructure damage caused by Russian shelling. For two months in a row, the Russian Federation has been launching rocket attacks on the civilian infrastructure of Ukraine every week. The target of this damage was the network of substations and transformers that provide electricity transmission from generating plants.
The metallurgical and metalworking industry has been one of the pillars of the Ukraine’s economy, but the war and the sea blockade are driving it into a deep crisis. In the industry, enterprises pessimistically assess their business activity and business climate; they continue to reduce production and exports.
