Udzielanie ulg w płatności podatków przez samorządowe organy podatkowe

Author(s): Marek Zdebel / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 404/2015

The implementation of tax commitment by tax payers in favour of the local government municipality can, in a particular case, involve an extraordinary burden for the obliged person and their family. This also regards tax payers who are entrepreneurs and who undergo additional restrictions in connection with their benefiting from the state assistance. In these circumstances all of them can apply for granting tax payment abatements. Granting an abatement can, however, take place only in case of the occurrence of one of two legal prerequisites, as well as, the preservation of the legally accepted procedures of bringing out a decision by the self-government tax organ. The regulations of tax law binding in Poland regarding the determination of the conditions for granting tax abatements are not unambiguous and the application of these regulations must, to a large degree, be based on the opinions expressed in this respect by the administrative courts.

UE wobec rozwoju sztucznej inteligencji

Author(s): Marta Makowska / Language(s): Polish / Publication Year: 2019

Stany Zjednoczone i Chiny konkurują o pozycję światowego lidera rozwiązań z zakresu sztucznej inteligencji. Nowy wyścig technologiczny pozostawia Unię Europejską w tyle. Trwające obecnie prace nad unijną strategią w tej branży mają na celu harmonizację działań poszczególnych państw. Istotne będą unijne regulacje w sferze etyki i prawa (ochrony praw konsumenta, regulacji antydyskryminacyjnych) oraz niekomercyjnego wykorzystania sztucznej inteligencji (zwłaszcza w medycynie). UE powinna też wspierać wszystkie państwa w rozwoju technik cyfrowych.

Ukinuće Bjelovarsko-križevačke županije i kako je to područje prošlo u vrijeme djelovanja Osječke i Zagrebačke oblasne skupštine 1927. i 1928. godine

Author(s): Mira Kolar-Dimitrijević / Language(s): Croatian / Issue: 2/2008

In 1922, when the Regulation defining the division of the land into districts was passed, the Bjelovar-Križevci County was the biggest and best-managed county in Croatia and Slavonia. Since 1886, it has grown around Bjelovar, which had, as soon as in 1776, been built by Empress Maria Theresa as the military centre of that part of Croatia. The division of the land into districts was not a simple process; it was only in 1927 that the district autonomy began its active operation following the formation of district councils and committees. The autonomy was supposed to help the state solve its difficulties in the field. The Belgrade authorities were not fond of the Bjelovar-Križevci County, since it was, in addition to being the most prosperous one, also the most rebellious; they therefore decided to divide this area between the Osijek and Zagreb districts. However, the Bjelovar tendencies did not disappear. On the contrary, this area became a strong link between Slavonia and Croatia in realising Radić’s idea of building a better life through autonomy in the districts where the majority of representatives had been members of the Peasant-Democratic Coalition, i.e. followers of Stjepan Radić’s and Svetozar Pribićević’s; in this regard, some of the councillors in both district councils had played rather important roles. The autonomies did, however, not last; a pity indeed, since Radić’s ideas regarding correlating in the economic, tourist, financial, educational and medical senses could have otherwise produced excellent results. Unfortunately, the end to it all had been put by the proclamation of dictatorship, so that never again could such favourable terms for the wishes of the people to be realised have been assured.

Ukraina: DCFTA mimo wszystko

Author(s): Piotr Kościński / Language(s): Polish / Publication Year: 2015

DCFTA – unijno-ukraińskie porozumienie o strefie wolnego handlu wejdzie w życie 1 stycznia 2016 r. Efektem będą konkretne, choć nie natychmiastowe, ekonomiczne korzyści dla Ukrainy, ale też zapowiedziane już nałożenie na nią sankcji przez Rosję, w tym embargo na import żywności. Długoterminowo DCFTA pozwoli jednak Ukrainie na przyjęcie większości przepisów prawa unijnego i zbliżenie z UE, a także na poprawę standardów i konkurencyjności gospodarki. Ukraińskim władzom potrzebne jest polityczne i finansowe wsparcie ze strony Unii Europejskiej w pierwszym okresie obowiązywania umowy, zwłaszcza przy przeciwdziałaniu rosyjskim sankcjom.

Ukraine - Going West despite everything

Author(s): Volodymyr Kuzyo / Language(s): English / Issue: 3/2020

In 2014 Ukraine found itself at a turning point when the government signed the political and (later) economic parts of the Association Agreement with the European Union. Six years later it has become evident that too little time has passed to fully evaluate this period, but one thing is certain: Ukraine is determined to stay on the path to the West.

Ukraine – Romania: a sustained deadlock

Author(s): Tadeusz Iwański / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2011

The decision passed by the International Court of Justice in The Hague in February 2009, which finally determined the status of the Snake Island and the delimitation of the borders of Ukraine’s and Romania’s exclusive economic zones on the Black Sea’s continental shelf removed the major dispute from the agenda of relations between the two countries but it failed to reduce their mutual distrust. The sources of this distrust include the difficult history of Ukrainian-Romanian relations in the 20th century which is still adversely affecting political and economic co-operation between these two countries and preventing them from being free from resentments. Romania is the only EU member state and neighbour with which Ukraine has strained relations, which have been seriously deadlocked for years. There are a few political and economic reasons for this. Bucharest’s actions taken with regard to the Romanian and Moldovan national minorities in Ukraine are interpreted in Kyiv as a threat to Ukraine’s national security, and Romania’s political and economic activity in the Black Sea basin is perceived as contrary to Ukrainian interests in this region. In effect, although Romania supports Ukraine’s efforts to build closer relations with the Western structures in the international arena, it cannot be ruled out that Romania’s support will depend on the resolution of bilateral disputes in a way which is favourable to Romania.

Ukraine and Its Future in a Globalised International Community

Author(s): Taras Melnyk / Language(s): English / Issue: 3/2018

The political and economic vector of Ukraine’s development has changed many times over the years of independence. Contrary to rational economic institutional transformations, the society faced the slowdown of social progress and slogans of populism. Furthermore, the desire to get high results without making significant efforts tended only to sow chaos, confusion and dissatisfaction among the population.The paper presents the author’s vision of the further development and formation of the Ukrainian state, the patterns in which external and internal factors can influence these processes. The article also analysed a number of features inherent in modern-day Ukraine.

Ukraine and Russia: a hindered rapprochement

Author(s): Sławomir Matuszak / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2010

The policy of rapprochement with Russia that President Victor Yanukovych and his entourage had been actively promoting in the first months of his presidency has slowed down notably. One of the reasons for this lowered pace is that current talks between Russia and Ukraine concern the spheres in which Kyiv is not ready to make concessions to Russia. Despite numerous top-level meetings, recent months have failed to bring a breakthrough in energy issues of key importance. First of all, no compromise was reached in gas issues where the divergence of interests is particularly large and where Ukraine has adopted a tough stance to negotiate the best conditions possible. Even though some agreements were signed during the October session of the inter-governmental committee presided over by the prime ministers (the agreement on linking the two states' aircraft production and on the joint construction of a nuclear fuel production plant), these resulted from prior agreements.Economic negotiations will continue in the coming months but the observed deadlock is not likely to be broken any time soon. The results of these talks are likely to reflect the interests of both Russia and Ukraine, as well as the competition among Ukrainian business groups, some of which opt for closer cooperation with their Eastern neighbour.Ukraine's consent to send oil to Belarus along the Odessa-Brody pipeline shows that the government in Kyiv is ready to engage in projects they consider profitable, even those that run counter to Russian interests. Ukraine’s adoption of this stance may trigger irritation in Moscow and lead to a cooling in bilateral relations.

Ukraine on the financial front – the problem of Ukraine’s foreign public debt

Author(s): Rafał Sadowski / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2015

One of the key challenges that Ukraine is facing is the scale of its foreign debt (both public and private). As of 1st April it stood at US$ 126 billion, which is 109.8% of the country’s GDP. Approximately 45% of these financial obligations are short-term, meaning that they must be paid off within a year. Although the value of the debt has fallen by nearly US$ 10 billion since the end of 2014 (due to the private sector paying a part of the liabilities), the debt to GDP ratio has increased due to the recession and the depreciation of the hryvnia. The value of Ukraine’s foreign public debt is also on the rise (including state guarantees); since the beginning of 2015 it has risen from US$ 37.6 billion to US$ 43.6 billion. Ukraine does not currently have the resources to pay off its debt. In this situation a debt restructuring is necessary and this is one of the top priorities for the Ukrainian government as well as for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and its assistance programme. Without this it will be much more difficult for Ukraine to overcome the economic crisis.

UKRAINE: AN EXAMPLE OF LIMITS OF BALANCE AND ASYMMETRIC REACTION IN THE MARITIME TRADE MARKET

Author(s): Nicholas Primachev,Tatyana Frasynyuk / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2019

This article deals with the principles of reaction of shipowners’ structures on the set of changes in the maritime trade market’s parameters. There are features of decision-making within the uncertain variability of the maritime trade market. Thus there are subsystems clearly realizing prioritizing strategies, and subsystems that choose the form of reaction to changes in the conditions of limited resources in the structure of the global maritime transport industry. Maintaining a balance, as the most effective condition of any market, plays a special role in maritime transport due to the high cost of fleet deadweight and the intensity of the crews’ work. Therefore, the clarity and timeliness of the response to external changes in traffic flows and carrying capacity of competing shipping companies becomes paramount.

Ukraine: National Energy Security Indicators and Policy Challenges

Country factsheet

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2015

The country factsheets present a critical review of the energy security governance in Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine, and map the main policy challenges faced by these countries in facilitating more transparent and data-driven decision making. The national and regional energy security of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries has become a hot topic of discussion in the EU recently, focusing the attention of experts, policy makers, and the general public on ongoing and future energy projects but also on the features of energy governance in these countries. The fragile democratic traditions in the CEE countries, the existing networks of political protectionism and economic oligarchy, and the opaque business practices nurtured by corruption and links with organized crime, have been reinforced by the negative implications of Russian economic and geo-political influence. Russia has exploited its dominant position in the energy market and its long-term links with certain political and economic groups to shape political decisions across the region according to its own interests, but often to the detriment of the home country consumers. A major governance challenge for Bulgaria, Serbia and Ukraine is the lack of political agreement on a long-term national energy strategy with supporting financial instruments, which would lower the ad-hoc decision making, often related to suspicions of being influenced by private political and economic interests. Romania championed the group in terms of good energy governance due to the improved independence of the national energy regulator with the adoption of new legislation in 2012, as well as due to the continuing overall strong performance in the fight against corruption in the country. The governance of the state-owned energy enterprises in CEE is heavily influenced by political interference, distorting their investment independence and regulatory oversight. This is particularly visible in Bulgaria and Ukraine. The politically mandated downward pressure on electricity and gas prices in Bulgaria, Romania, and Serbia increases further the vulnerability of their energy sectors. The heavy dependence on a single source and route of gas supply is the major energy security risk for all countries. In Bulgaria and Ukraine, it is coupled with heavy dependence on oil import from the same country – Russia. While Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine have undertaken diversification efforts, Serbia seems to favour the status quo, even at the expense of paying one of the highest wholesale prices of natural gas in Europe.

UKRAINE: NATIONAL ENERGY SECURITY INDICATORS AND POLICY CHALLENGES. Country factsheet

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2015

National bulletins present a critical analysis of energy security management in Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine, and highlight the major challenges faced by countries in their transition to more transparent and data-driven policy-making processes. The management of state energy enterprises in CEE is strongly influenced by political interference, violating their investment independence and regulatory oversight. This is particularly noticeable in Bulgaria and Ukraine. The political pressure to reduce electricity and gas prices in Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia further increases the vulnerability of their energy sectors.Strong dependence on a single source and route for gas supply is the most serious risk to energy security in all countries. In Bulgaria and Ukraine, this risk is exacerbated by their dependence on imported oil from the same source - Russia. While Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine have made efforts for energy diversification, Serbia seems to support the current status quo, although it pays some of Europe's highest natural gas prices.

Ukraine: sovereign decentralisation or federalism without sovereignty?

Author(s): Tadeusz A. Olszański / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2014

mands for a constitutional reform that would transform the country from a unitary into a federal state in a way that would considerably privilege the eastern and southern regions. Such a change to Ukraine's administrative system would enable Moscow to put pressure on Ukraine's central government via the regions. In order to achieve its objectives, Russia has been pressuring Kyiv to establish a constitutional assembly in a form that would guarantee the endorsement of solutions dictated by Russia. In other words, Russia has been demanding, in what is practically an ultimatum, that Ukraine give up one of the fundamental sovereign rights of a state, the right to freely determine its system of government.Transforming Ukraine into a federal state is an unacceptable idea, primarily because the intention behind Russia's demands is to undermine Ukraine's sovereignty, both through the content of the proposed changes and the way in which they are to be implemented. However, keeping in place the current, centralist model of state governance is not a feasible alternative. Ukraine will have to grant its regions broad self-governance powers, including the power to hold local referendums, and to transfer a considerable portion of the prerogatives currently held by the state to the local self-governments, along with adequate financial resources. That is because decentralisation along these lines is the only way forward towards a modern democracy in Ukraine.

Ukraine: Too Big for School

Author(s): Elżbieta Kaca / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

This section presents how budget support has been used in Ukraine. Sector Budget Support (SBS) is the predominant EU assistance tool in Ukraine, with around 60% of all EU aid to the country planned to be spent in this way in the years 2007–2013. Six agreements were signed in the sectors of energy, energy efficiency, trade facilitation, environment, transport, and border management, and another is awaited in energy for an overall sum of €389 million. However, in total Ukraine received payments of no more than one third of this amount (€111.14 million) because since 2011 the EC has limited transfers for all operations. The main reason for this was non-fulfilment of a precondition on PFM, as since 2011 the country’s public procurement law and budgetary transparency have significantly deteriorated. This crucial condition ensures that funds are not fraudulently used. After two years of futile discussion on the implementation of this condition, the Ukrainian government finally adopted a PFM strategy in September 2013 (not made public) as this issue was made an EU condition to sign an AA.

Ukraine’s Innovation-Driven Economic Development: Institutional Challenges

Author(s): Lyubov Artemenko / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2016

This paper studies the link between innovative development, institutional arrangements and economic performance in Ukraine. The research investigates whether, and to what extent, institutional arrangements in Ukraine influence its innovation-driven economic development, and how this impact can be measured for the whole economy and for a specific sector (IT). The research aims to discover how the pillars of the National Innovation System (NIS) and their interactions in the dynamic perspective influence the innovative development of Ukraine in general, and of the IT sector in particular. Mixed method research is applied in the paper. Empirical research is employed to test the causative effect of the pillars of Ukraine’s NIS on innovative development and to model the relationship between the explanatory and response variables. Qualitative research is then presented, in the form of responses to in-depth interviews with the personnel of IT companies, to support or contradict the results of empirical research.

Ukraine's cooperation with the IMF – unfulfilled hopes for deeper reform

Author(s): Sławomir Matuszak / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2011

The Party of Regions took power in early 2010, after Ukraine had been plunged deep in economic crisis. Over the next year, with the external markets recovering, the country’s economic situation started to improve gradually. Ukraine’s economic stabilisation was also strengthened by its resumed cooperation with the International Monetary Fund, which provided for a loan worth $15.1 billion. The issuing of successive tranches of the loan was made dependent on the implementation of a comprehensive reform programme. The cooperation went quite smoothly at first; however, as the economic situation in Ukraine improved, the reformist zeal of the Ukrainian government started to fade, and obstacles began piling up. As a result, Ukraine was refused the third tranche, scheduled for this March, and for the moment the credit line remains frozen. Even though the IMF has numerous reservations about the Ukrainian government's economic policy, the fundamental condition for resuming cooperation is reform of the pension system, which the parliament should adopt.

Ukrainian economy on the verge of recession

Author(s): Arkadiusz Sarna / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2012

In the third quarter of 2012, Ukraine’s economy recorded negative growth (-1.3%) for the first time since its 2009 economic crisis. Q4 GDP is projected to suffer a further decline, bringing Ukraine into formal recession. In addition to the worsening macroeconomic indicators, Ukraine is also facing a series of concomitant economic problems: a growing trade deficit, industrial decline, shrinking foreign exchange reserves, and the weakening of the hryvnia. Poor economic growth is expected to result in lower than projected budget revenues, which in turn could lead to the sequestration of the budget in December. The decline evident across the key economic indicators in the second half of 2012 brings to a close a period of relative economic stability and two years of economic growth, which had been seen as a significant personal achievement of President Viktor Yanukovych and the ruling Party of Regions.

Ukrainian economy overshadowed by war

Author(s): Tadeusz Iwański / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2014

Ukraine’s financial results over the past few months prove that the economic crisis which has been ongoing since mid 2012 has exacerbated. According to data from the Ukrainian Ministry of Economy, Gross Domestic Product for the first six months of 2014 shrank by 3%. In the second quarter, it fell by 4.6%[1] and may further be reduced by as much as 8–10% over the year as a whole. After the first six months of this year, the balance of payments deficit reached US$4.3 billion. After deflation last year, prices grew by 12%, and the hryvnia dropped to a historic low. Although a surplus was seen in Ukrainian foreign trade in goods and services, reaching over US$3 billion at the end of June, its trade volume is shrinking. The main reason behind this deteriorating situation is the actions taken by Russia. Moscow has been fomenting the conflict in Donbas since April, has consistently imposed embargoes on imports of more and more Ukrainian goods and cut gas supplies to Ukraine in June. This has forced the government to focus on the current management of state finances and to carry out budget sequestration twice this year. The government has also used this as an excuse not to implement necessary systemic reforms. The increasing share of military expenditure, the shrinking exports (-5% in the first six months), including in particular to Russia, which until recently was Ukraine’s key trade partner, and the rapid fall in industrial production and investments have all made the situation even worse. All that saves Ukraine from an economic collapse is the loan from the International Monetary Fund and higher taxes, which allows the government to maintain budget liquidity. However, if the conflict in Donbas lasts longer and if Russia continues its economic blackmail, including withholding gas supplies, the economic crisis may prove to be long-lasting.

Ukrajina ako spúšťač existenciálnej krízy V4? Ďalšiu otázku, prosím!

Author(s): Tomáš Strážay / Language(s): Slovak / Publication Year: 0

Vyšehradská štvorka zastávala v roku 2014 obzvlášť významné postavenie v zahraničnej a európskej politike Slovenska. Kríza na Ukrajine podnietila predstaviteľov krajín V4 na mnohé aktivity nad rámec tradične plánovaných stretnutí a samitov. Hoci na úrovni V4 sa prijímali vyhlásenia deklarujúce spoločný postup, dizonancie vo vyjadreniach niektorých politických predstaviteľov jednotlivých krajín vyvolávali určité otázniky nad perspektívou spolupráce vo formáte V4 v ďalšom období. Viacerí politickí analytici či publicisti vo všetkých štyroch krajinách i mimo nich na základe týchto dizonancií začali hovoriť o existenciálnej kríze vyšehradskej skupiny – vo svetle deklarácií a stanovísk prijatých na politickej úrovni, ako aj ďalších dokumentov, na ktorých bazíruje tento text, však nebol tento trend badateľný. Do popredia tak opäť vystúpila otázka posilňovania vnútornej súdržnosti V4, aj vo vzťahu k rozširovaniu spolupráce o stále ďalšie krajiny vo formáte V4+.

ULOGA EKONOMIJE U RASPADU JUGOSLAVIJE

Author(s): Miroljub Labus / Language(s): Serbian / Issue: 2/1994

The transition of economical and political system started in Yugoslavia far before in other East European countries but was abandoned alter political crises 1968-71. In such a way material stimulation was brought into economy but state compulsion was preserved in politisc. As result of that, such self-management market economy had created injustices in distribution which arc, in conditions of inherited nacional problems, turned into feeling of "national exploitation". After breaking down of debt crises 1979 national product decreased drastically and differences in regional development were straightened. This situation in addition urged national conflicts and definitively excluded material stimulations as factors of integration of the country'.