Arseniy Yatsenyuk specified the Government's key goals for 2016

Among the core tasks for the next year are education and health reforms, transparent privatization, further decentralization, a judicial reform. Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk announced in the Parliament during An Hour of Questions to the Government in the framework of the report of the Government of Ukraine on Friday, 11 December.

One of the goals for 2016 was called an education reform, particularly upgrading secondary education: "We have made progress in retrofitting higher education and are in the process of implementation of the law on higher education. But secondary education is the basis for Ukrainian youth to have the future".

Another priority for the following year is changes in the health system: "It implies the transition from funding bed to funding medical services".

Arseniy Yatsenyuk also stressed transparent privatization as a crucial issue for 2016.

The Prime Minister appealed to the MPs "to work efficiently and adopt necessary laws, including law on privatization". He reminded that several times the bills on transparent, fair, competitive and efficient privatization had been considered in the walls of the Ukrainian Parliament, however, they got no support.

"I call on the members of Parliament to enable drawing foreign investment, increasing jobs, holding fair, transparent and competitive privatization and to give a chance to get rid of political influence in the management of public enterprises. The way we did it in the NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine, in which the new statute is introduced, new independent directors are working exceptionally in the interests of the state-owned company, but not for benefit of politicians", stressed Arseniy Yatsenyuk.

By the end of year it is vital to adopt a law of Ukraine on the State Budget and a tax reform and to endorse all necessary legislation, "to ensure 2016 to become the year of economic prosperity": "I appeal to the members of the Ukrainian Parliament to embark on a constructive discussion and to adopt these bills by the end of year".

He accentuated it is necessary to introduce new tax rules and new tax policy the following year.

The Prime Minister also stressed the need to continue the decentralization process. He recalled that previous year there had been held budget decentralization, "which provided the opportunity for local communities to increase their revenues": "Now local communities and local authorities have about UAH 20 billion on the accounts in the State Treasury".

"We have achieved a lot in decentralization by devolution of functions to register business activity directly to the local authorities. This gives an estimated 1 billion of revenues for local communities. And the most important - it gives the opportunity for the citizens to get public services at administrative service centers without bribes, queues, corruption", stressed Arseniy Yatsenyuk.

He reminded the Agreement on free trade area with the European Union would come into force the next year.

In addition, Arseniy Yatsenyuk noted that on 15 December there was due the report of the European Union mission on visa liberalization between Ukraine and the EU. He reminded that Parliament’s members had had "hard work and difficult discussions on package of visa-free laws": "But despite the tense atmosphere we could have voted for these laws. And I can declare that Ukraine has fulfilled all criteria necessary for introduction of the visa-free regime".

"Ukraine deserves to have borders of the European Union opened for Ukraine, as also the EU does. The borders will be opened for Ukrainian citizens", he highlighted.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk views among the main tasks the completion of the judicial reform in Ukraine.