Ukrainian Modernization Agency

For the first time, the possibility of creating an organization to attract foreign experts to develop reforms for Ukraine was discussed at several international forums known as the Vienna Round Tables, which were held in 2014 in Austria:

• Round table "Ukraine in Europe: peace and development" on October 1, 2014 in Vienna,
• Round table "The agricultural sector of Ukraine as the basis for economic development, regional and international cooperation" on November 3, 2014 .

On March 3, 2015, the international forum “Ukraine Tomorrow” was held in Vienna , at which the creation of the Agency for Modernization of Ukraine was announced, the composition of the Council of AMU was approved, and a schedule for the development of the Program for the Modernization of Ukraine was developed. ^[2] . The initiator of the creation of the Agency was the Head of the Federation of Employers of Ukraine , Ukrainian businessman Dmitry Firtash ^[3] .

AMU was created to attract leading European and world experts to the development of the Ukrainian Modernization Program and to attract the necessary investment resources for this ^[3] .

The development and implementation of the Modernization Program of Ukraine will consist of two stages. The first stage will last 200 days ^[4] , during which a general reform program and specific sectoral reform directions will be developed. The reforms will affect the Ukrainian economy, trade, law enforcement and the judiciary, the process of integration with the EU, health care, the fight against corruption, the financial sector and trade, and proposals will be developed for constitutional reform ^[5] . According to Dmitry Firtash , the creation of such an Agency and its subsequent activities will restore the confidence in Ukraine from foreign investors. As a result, this will attract at least $ 300 billion of investments to our country ^[6] .

President of AMU, former Minister of Finance of Austria Michael Spindelegger during the presentation of the Program in Kiev noted that the Fund for Modernization of Ukraine is aimed at investing in small and medium-sized enterprises mainly and infrastructure development ^[7] .

If the project to develop a reconstruction plan and attract investments in the amount of $ 300 billion is successful, the newly created Agency for the Modernization of Ukraine (AMU) will help to bridge structural gaps in Ukrainian society, return Ukraine to economic growth and relieve it of the status of the least efficient economy in the whole post-Soviet space ^[8] .

On July 8, 2015, experts of the Ukrainian Modernization Agency held a round table in Kiev with Ukrainian and European politicians, representatives of state authorities and public organizations ^[9] . The discussion was attended by over 100 delegates ^[10] . AMU President Michael Spindelegger and Head of European Integration Gunter Verheugen discussed with the participants in the round table issues of education, free trade between the EU and Ukraine, and also discussed cooperation in the field of telecommunications, transport and energy.

July 14, 2015 the team of the Agency for Modernization of Ukraine continues a series of round tables with the participation of famous European and Ukrainian politicians, experts and representatives of civil society in Ukraine ^[11] . The next meeting, which was devoted to the Constitution and constitutional jurisdiction in Ukraine, was held by the head of the Constitutional Reform Department at the Agency for Modernization of Ukraine, Professor of Cologne University Otto Depenhoyer. During the event, he noted that constitutional reform in Ukraine must begin with the real independence of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine ^[12] .

On July 22, 2015, AMU specialists held a roundtable discussion on the rule of law led by Lord Ken MacDonald ^[13] .

Ukraine Modernization Program

The modernization program of Ukraine ^[14] , declared by the Agency, consists of two parts:
• Recommendations on institutional reforms aimed at Ukraine’s integration into the EU and building a civil society (Reform Program),

• Programs for the development of specific sectors of the Ukrainian economy and assessment of the required volumes of financing ( Program for the Development of the Economy ) ^[15] .

The program is developed on the initiative of the largest Ukrainian non-governmental organizations representing the private sector - the Federation of Employers of Ukraine and the trade unions of Ukraine, uniting Ukrainian enterprises, which together produce almost 70% of Ukraine’s GDP ^[16] .

The program was developed under the guidance of European experts with experience in economic, political and constitutional reforms ^[17] . As a result, the Agency team created a very large document. In total - more than 400 pages of recommendations plus many applications ^[1] .

The leaders of the working groups for the preparation of the “Program for the Modernization of Ukraine” were former prime ministers, ministers, members of parliament and scientists from Poland, Germany, Austria, the UK and Switzerland, as well as the former vice president of the European Commission. As well as many Ukrainian experts. The National Academy of Sciences and a number of other Ukrainian scientific and public organizations participated in the development of the Program ^[1] .

The supervision and coordination of the development of the Modernization Program of Ukraine is carried out by the Agency Council ^[18] , which includes:

• Co-Founder of the Agency, Member of the House of Lords of Great Britain Lord Richard Risby , ^[19]

• Co-founder of the Agency, member of the German parliament and chairman of the German-Ukrainian parliamentary group Karl-Georg Welmann ,

• Co-founder of the Agency, a well-known French political journalist, philosopher and writer Bernard-Henri Levy .

• British diplomat, member of the House of Lords of Great Britain Earl of Oxford Raymond Asquith ^[20] .

• Representative of the Federation of Employers of Ukraine.

• Representative of Ukrainian trade unions.

Branch units

The expert vice-chancellor Michael Spindelegger will lead the work of experts ^[21] . Agency divisions of the Agency are headed by well-known economic and political experts ^[22] , in particular:

• Gunter Verheugen, former vice president of the European Commission for Entrepreneurship and Industry (at AMU, he leads the direction of reforms in the field of integration with the EU),

• Peer Steinbrück, former Minister of Finance of the Federal Republic of Germany (at AMU, he leads the direction of financial sector reforms and taxes),

• The former Prime Minister of Poland, Włodzimierz Zimosevic (at the AMU, he leads the anti-corruption area),

• the former Chief Prosecutor of England and Wales, Lord MacDonald (at the AMU, he leads the reform of the law enforcement and judicial systems),

• Chairman of the organization of French employers MEDEF in 2005-2013, Laurence Parisot (at the AMU he leads the direction of economic reform),

• the former European Commissioner for Trade and the head of various ministries during the prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, Peter Mandelson (at the AMU, he leads the direction of trade reforms),

• founder of the Doctors Without Borders and Doctors of the World organizations, former French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner (at the AMU, he leads the direction of healthcare reforms) ^[21]

In the framework of previous agreements, specialists from several European analytical centers, together with the Federation of Employers of Ukraine, are working to study the situation in the Ukrainian economy and the needs of each of the industries for the necessary financial resources ^[23] . With the start of reforms, the Ukrainian Recovery Fund will be created under the Modernization Plan of Ukraine, with a capital of $ 300 billion ^[24] . The fund is created to invest in various sectors of the Ukrainian economy in accordance with the Modernization Program.

• The fund will be structured in accordance with the principles that inspire investor confidence (form of organization, jurisdiction, etc.). ^[25]
• The Fund attracts long international financing from private investors, international financial organizations and sovereign funds of foreign countries ^[8] .
• Investment in projects in Ukraine will be carried out on a repayable basis and involves the purchase of equipment in countries that provide financing ^[26] .

Leading European politicians already call the Modernization Plan of Ukraine ^[27] - “the Marshall Plan of our time”. In his speech at the Ukraine Tomorrow forum, during the presentation of the AMU, British MP John Whittingdale stated that British Prime Minister David Cameron expressed support for the initiative to create an Agency for the Modernization of Ukraine. French President Francois Hollande also expressed support for the project to modernize Ukraine. According to the French publicist and writer Bernard-Henri Levy, the French president sees in the project " the Marshal ’s plan of our time ." In addition, one of the founders of the Ukrainian Modernization Agency, Frenchman Bernard-Henri Levy, expresses support for this project from President Petro Poroshenko.

• Artyom Petrenko. Firtash's plan. Part 1
• Artyom Petrenko. Firtash's plan. Part 2
• Sergey Leshchenko . Octopus of Dmitry Firtash. Agents of influence in the West

Video

• Forum in Vienna "Ukraine Tomorrow" on YouTube
• President of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk - about the Agency for the Modernization of Ukraine (ASU) on YouTube