President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine has approved the International Advisory Council on Reforms (IACR) and its membership, with ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia as Chairman. Among the council members are noted politicians, ex-prime ministers Carl Bildt (Sweden), Mikulas Dzurinda (Slovakia), Andrius Kubilius (Lithuania); John McCain, US Senator, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee; Elmar Brok, chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, European Parliament; MEP Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, senior fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics, and Dr. Anders Aslund. According to the president’s edict, all of them joined the council of their own free will.
As another advisory authority, the council would seem nothing out of the ordinary in the reform-making process in Ukraine, using advanced international experience, except that late at night, after the edict had appeared on the president’s website, an awkward situation developed when Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, US Senator John McCain declared he had given no consent to participate in the Advisory Council. Considering that his name on the list, on the presidential website, was followed by “as agreed,” his statement was instantly picked by the world media.
In fact, Senator McCain told BuzzFeed News: “I was asked to do it both by Ukraine and Saakashvili and I said I would be inclined to do it but I said I needed to look at all the nuances of it, whether it’s legal under our ethics and all that kind of stuff. I of course would love to do anything I can to help Ukraine, but I’ve got to make sure it’s OK under Senate rules.”
The Day asked its experts for comment on the International Advisory Committee on Reforms of the President of Ukraine.
Yurii SHCHERBAK, public activist, ex-Ambassador of Ukraine to the US, Canada, and Israel (Kyiv):
“First, they ought to have received written consent from each of them [members of the International Advisory Council on Reforms], considering that they are not ordinary people. This should have been arranged by diplomats unofficially before making an official publication.
“As for the IACR idea, it looks rather like a speculative move; we have enough additions and attachments to various such institutions that won’t actually change anything in the absence of reforms. I think not more than five, maybe even three major reforms should be implemented. And I mean reforms aimed at making the life of the population easier. Not a single reform will be accepted unless it affects most of the people. Otherwise it will be another bureaucratic hot air session.
“It would be important to create an electronic government and make it effective, so each could access the Internet and receive an answer to his/her question or information that would help solve a problem. It is horrible to see all those institutions and social assistance authorities scattered over the city, with the poor pensioners having to travel hither and thither. Just as it is outrageous to watch those ‘upstairs’ failing to understand this. If this goes on, there will be another Maidan. Therefore, it is very important to outline the priorities of reforms.
“Also, demonopolization and deoligarchization. We constantly hear about retail trade network price-raising conspiracies. Our consumer prices are at least two times higher than in Europe and three times in the US. Nothing is being done about this. The population must realize that reforms are being underway, otherwise no one will believe in them.
“I can see that much has been accomplished, that replacing the Yanukovych racket regime is easier said than done, that there are still many ranking personnel problems. Still, something concrete must be done. There is no money, the situation in the country is very complicated. In that case give people freedom. There is no alternative. It is also necessary to alleviate the bureaucratic situation in the country.
“Assuming that the Cabinet has the same structures that existed when I was a minister, right after the proclamation of independence (when, as I well remember, there was nothing a minister could do unless okayed by that all-powerful machine within the Cabinet), any reform is out of the question. Regrettably, the foreign members of government may well become disillusioned and call it quits in a year or two, saying we want no part of such reforms. One must consider the consequences.
“I don’t believe there are no Ukrainian normal reformers who are able to work. I don’t think that assigning all kinds of posts to foreigners is the right thing to do. Not that I’m against such assignments, but these should be major advisory rather than executive posts. We can see today from our own experience what happened when the Varangians came to Kyivan Rus’. Their arrival signified the impotence of the Kyivan bureaucratic machine; they had to invite ruthless foreigners who came and established a military regime.
“I’d rather Oleksandr Paskhaver became the number-one advisor on reforms, considering that the man knows about them better than any reputed foreigner. All these advisory councils are good, but one has to focus on serious matters, including unemployment. Here the main thing is reviving the infrastructures destroyed in the ATO-adjoining regions. This takes manpower and payroll. Unless we prove in two years that Ukraine can prosper, in contrast to those DNR and LNR terrorist regimes, we will essentially lose the war with Russia. We have to avoid this, otherwise Ukraine will cease to exist. This is something everyone must realize. We can prove this only by carrying out our reforms, by showing prospects of economic growth. Nothing is being done to that end. There are no systemic reforms. That’s the biggest problem.
“What can McCain do to help? He knows everything there is to know about the global security situation, Russia’s role as an enemy of the United States and European democracy, as Ukraine’s worst enemy. He doesn’t know our daily economic realities and isn’t likely to give us a piece of useful advice. We need other advisors. The [International Advisory] Council is OK, but aren’t we aware of the challenges facing us? The staggering impoverishment rate in the first place. This is something we must consider, even in wartime.”
Pavlo SHEREMETA, ex-Minister of Economy (Kyiv):
“I believe it is a power board of expert state administrators. Another thing is that we have enough advisors and to spare. Our problem is the lack of manpower, lack of institutional ability to implement the recommendations we receive. Mostly similar recommendations like ridding the country of corruption. How many times do we have to hear this? What is being done about this problem? Very little. We can set up another council and will hear again: get rid of corruption. I think everyone realizes that corruption must be overcome, except who will do it?
“The International Advisory Council on Reforms is good. I know many people there. They are acknowledged experts on state administration and economics. No problem there.
“About McCain. I think they must’ve jumped the gun. Well, things like that happen. Senator McCain is a very good friend of Ukraine. I think this is a working matter that will be worked out.”
The Day’s FACT FILE
The International Advisory Council on Reforms of the President of Ukraine, pursuant to its objectives, is tasked with preparing proposals and recommendations outlining the trends and mechanisms of reforms in Ukraine, relying on advanced international experience, if need be correcting the reform implementation process, allowing for the domestic and international socioeconomic situation; submitting proposals to the National Council on Reforms; preparing findings on the topicality of reforms and the compliance of their implementation mechanism with the principles of reforms, etc.
