| Publisher | Carnegie Europe |
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| Series Title | Ukraine Reform Monitor |
| Series Details | October 2017 |
| Publication Date | October 2017 |
| Content Type | Journal | Series | Blog |
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The Carnegie Endowment publishes the Ukraine Reform Monitor to provide independent, fact-based, rigorous assessments of the scope and quality of reforms in Ukraine. The Carnegie Endowment works with a team of independent Ukraine-based scholars. The seventh memo covers the period from April to October 2017. The monitor is supported in part by grants from the Center for East European and International Studies (Zentrum für Osteuropa- und internationale Studien, ZOiS) and the Open Society Foundations.The hallmark of Ukrainian political life over the period April-October 2017 has been President Petro Poroshenko’s efforts to consolidate power, as he looks ahead to the presidential and parliamentary elections of 2019. However, he faces challenges to his authority, in the parliament and, most visibly, from former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili and his supporters. The first signs of pre-election political maneuvering have already affected the reform process. Reforms with the necessary political 'clearance' — such as the judiciary, decentralization, and pension reform—have moved forward in the Ukrainian parliament, or Rada. However, the overall pace of reforms remained slow and delays in the Rada put a pause on the recently launched healthcare reforms. Tensions between Ukraine and the West are mounting, mostly due to the Ukrainian leadership’s reluctance to tackle corruption. The conflict in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region has also continued to have a negative impact on the whole country and the reform process. The January rail blockade of Donbas, and appropriation of businesses there, depressed economic growth. The threat from Russia, and the upcoming 2019 Ukrainian elections, gives Kyiv arguments against strict Western conditionality and has helped ensure material and rhetorical support from the United States. The successful placement of $3 billion Eurobonds in international markets also buys Kyiv time. The European Union (EU) has expressed impatience about the need to implement reforms, despite granting visa-free travel to Ukrainians in June 2017 and the full application of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement on September 1. |
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| Source Link | http://carnegieendowment.org/2017/10/10/ukraine-reform-monitor-october-2017-pub-73330 |
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| Countries / Regions | Ukraine |
