KIEV, June 15 – Europe could impose sanctions against Ukraine if the convicted leaders of the Ukrainian opposition do not participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections, MEP Werner Schulz said.

KIEV, June 17 – The rise in excise duties on gasoline by 20% to EUR 132 per ton, in line with a law on amendments to some legislative acts (on taxation), which was adopted on Wednesday, will not lead to a rise in prices for gasoline, according to experts of the gasoline market polled by Interfax-Ukraine.

KIEV, June 17 – Parliament, led by the governing coalition, on Thursday gave first-reading approval to a tax code that reduces corporate taxes, but may eventually create additional problems for small- and medium-sized businesses.

KIEV, June 17 – Ukraine has been working jointly with the European Union and Russia on a solution to purchase $4 billion worth of natural gas within the next three months, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said Wednesday.

KIEV, June 17 - The government plans to increase the capital of Naftogaz Ukrayiny in order to help the company pay natural gas debts owed for Russian gas supplies, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said Wednesday.

KIEV, June 17 – Transportation Minister Yosyp Vinskiy resigned Wednesday, citing “serious disagreements” with Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko over policy issues, further weakening the government as Ukraine plows through its worst economic crisis in a decade.

KIEV, June 15 – Talks are continuing on freeing from capture by Somali pirates the Ariana, Marathon and Hansa Stavanger ships, which have Ukrainian sailors onboard, Foreign Ministry spokesman Vasyl Kyrylych said on Monday.

KIEV, June 17 – The profit of Ukrainian enterprises from the production and use of coal deposit gas (methane) will be exempted from taxation from Jan. 1, 2010 through Jan. 1, 2020.

KIEV, June 17 – Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko predicts that the hryvnia will become stable due the growth in the output of steel and steel products.

"The output of steel and finished steel products gave us growth of 7.2% in May compared to April [according to the State Statistics Committee], which gives us hope for the stabilization of currency markets in Ukraine.

KIEV, June 17 - NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Tuesday he would try to persuade all NATO members to back the idea of extending to Ukraine a Membership Action Plan (MAP), a step to joining the military alliance, Reuters reported.