The Economic Situation in Ukraine – Solutions for the Crisis

Ukraine faces the most serious crisis in years, which is further exacerbated by ongoing civil unrest. What can be done to solve the enormous economic problems, and what implies financial help from outside for Ukraine?

The panel discussion held on March 25 at the German Council for Foreign Relations in cooperation with the German Advisory Group Ukraine and German-Ukraine-Forum dealt with these questions on a top level.

Dr. Igor Burakovskyi, Head of the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting in Kyiv first gave a detailed overview on the threats and challenges to macroeconomic stability and growth in Ukraine.

Mr. Gavrilenkov, Managing Director and Chief Economist of Sberbank in Moscow shared his analysis of Ukraine’s current situation.

Dr. Ricardo Giucci of the German Advisory Group stressed the importance of an IMF-deal for Ukraine and elaborated on the highly probable focus on gas prices in the IMF program. He explained the economy’s double burden caused by subsidizing gas: Not only do the households pay less than 20% of the actual costs, but, due to the cheap price, are not incentivized to consume less, thus, gas imports remain high.

After the panel the audience had the possibility to ask questions and contribute their own comments. Amongst them were representatives of international organisatons, politics, think tanks and NGOs.