Arseniy Yatsenyuk says about reforms: we can't afford to wait, and we can not waste time

Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk has announced several macroeconomic indicators, which the Government expects in 2014. "The macroeconomic picture is not as good as it could be, but not as bad as we expected," he said at the Tenth Annual Investor Conference Wednesday, April 2.

The Prime Minister informed that the Cabinet expects negative GDP growth of -3%, inflation of 14%, "a flexible exchange rate, which, however, does not have to be a "super-flexible".

Arseniy Yatsenyuk convinced that if program with the IMF the European Investment Bank, the EBRD, the World Bank is resumed, the Government will reinforce the Ukrainian economy "with tools that will give a boost to economic growth."

According to him, in view of the fact that the Government is taking tough measures on budget spending, the cut in the public sector will be about 10%, "This will have an impact on employment levels, but we have to pay the price for our reforms, and this is the price that we have to pay for the future of Ukraine."

Arseniy Yatsenyuk stressed that the first issue in agenda of the Government is to resume the system of management in the state: "We have got completely destroyed state machine, without the central Prosecutor’s Offices, without judicial system. We’ve got totally incapacitated state authority."

"Another issue that had become a challenge for us, there was a war, and even I tell you - there is a war. This Government is the Government of war time. We have not allowed the military operations of Russia in eastern and southern Ukraine. Despite this, Russia has committed aggression and captured part of Ukrainian territory - Crimea. And it had a strong influence on the political and economic situation in Ukraine," he said.

As recalled the Prime Minister, it was decided to make a pause in the signing of the Economic Association Agreement with the EU and to ink it after the elections: "Despite this, our European partners put in place unilaterally all of the economic benefits of the Agreement for Ukraine."

"We hope that the European market will be open for Ukrainian goods from May 15," Arseniy Yatsenyuk said.

Another task of the Government, he said is the resumption of negotiations with foreign investors, donors and financial institutions, including the IMF: "We started this process and we hope to complete it soon. To this end, the Parliament has made decision on austerity measures of saving and budget amendments that will recover economy."

"The most important and most difficult: are we ready to implement real reform? Yes, we are ready. But what we have done so far - these are not reforms, but painkillers for the Ukrainian economy and its resuscitation in order not to give the country to die," the Prime Minister said.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk noted that the following steps, which the Government must do, to begin serious reforms in all spheres: "We recognize that we are facing political challenges related to the presidential elections. But we can't afford to wait, and we can not waste time."