Yatsenyuk, citing billions of dollars stolen by Yanukovych, calls for austerity measures.

[dipsydoodle]

In a dramatic 30-minute speech today, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk asked parliament to support a range of belt-tightening measures for the nation to stay solvent and overcome the after-effects of the looting by overthrown President Viktor Yanukovych and his team.

“If the country were a commercial entity, we would be bankrupt,” Yatsenyuk said, adding that the nation will be some Hr 289 billion in the red this year, or $26 billion at the current exchange rate, an enormous figure considering the national budget is only about $50 billion.

Yatseniuk's government suggested a package of laws that would help to meet the financial and economic challenges, and parliament is expected to vote on these suggestions later in the day. The prime minister predicted that the nation's gross domestic product will drop 3 percent this year if parliament accepts the austerity measures, and 10 percent if it does not.

The measures were agreed with the International Monetary Fund, which on the same day announced that it reached a staff-level agreement for a $14-$18 billion, two-year loan program for Ukraine. A board decision is expected next month.

The agreement will unlock support from the broader international community that amounts to $27 billion over the next two years, Nikolay Gueorguiev, IMF mission chief for Ukraine, in his statement.

http://www.kyivpost.com/content/politics/yatsenyuk-citing-billions-of-dollars-stolen-by-yanukovych-calls-for-austerity-measures-341086.html

[LuvNewcastle]

1. Austerity and the IMF go hand in hand.

[The Magistrate]

2. He Probably Has That Reversed, Sir

The country's GDP will drop by ten percent at least if austerity measures are passed, and by perhaps three percent if they are not. That is how 'austerity' has been observed to work out over the last few years.