During the two-day visit to the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Arseniy Yatseniuk, the Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, held a meeting with the members of the Presidium of The Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, chairmen of the village, settlement, district, and city councils on Wednesday, 30 January.
The attendees of the meeting discussed urgent problems of the Autonomy. They emphasized insufficient funding of the delegated authorities in the State Budget for Year 2008 and dwelled on necessary relevant amendments to the Budget Code of Ukraine, introduction of essential systematic amendments to the land legislation and to the Laws that regulate relations in the field of housing and communal services.
The participants of the meeting also called for revision of the Law on public purchases.
Summing up the discussion, the Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine expressed his opinion concerning possible ways to settle the problems of the Autonomy.
Inter alia, A.Yatseniuk declared his intention to recommend that Viktor Yushchenko, the President of Ukraine, convenes the Council of National Security and Defense of Ukraine on settlement of the issues concerning unauthorized acquisition of land in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
He defined "crucial issues" as follows: adoption of the Bill to determine the status of the deported, creation of a single State register of persons affected by the Law, funding of land plots and infrastructure development.
Dwelling on the issue concerning establishment of tariffs, the Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine proposed that the representatives of the local authority bodies should elaborate relevant proposals and submit them to approval of the National Commission of Power Industry Regulation of Ukraine.
A.Yatseniuk stated that on the whole, to be solved, the Crimean problems require "political will and willingness to work". He believes that the Crimean authority can initiate consideration of the issue concerning independent establishment of local taxes and duties. A.Yatseniuk considers real estate tax as an essential source of local budget replenishment.
The Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine called on the officials of the Autonomy for introducing "feasible" proposals to the Law on the State Budget.