KIEV, Oct. 23 – Three economic rescue packages, prepared by Ukraine’s three main rival political groups, have been scheduled for debate in Parliament on Friday amid a growing consensus that anti-crisis measures are needed to avert recession.

The bills were put on agenda by a vote on Thursday after Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s lawmakers had briefly lifted their blockade of the podium, a tactic that has been preventing Parliament’s operation for past four days.

“Let’s work actively tomorrow to approve the legislation as failure to approve it would cost dearly to the economy,” Arseniy Yatseniuk, the speaker of Parliament, said Thursday. “The question is in which form will this legislation be approved, but it must be approved.”

The legislation seeks to avert a recession in Ukraine, which appears to be affected by the global credit crunch aggravated by dramatically weakening demand for steel, the country’s main exports.

The developments led to the national currency, the hryvnia, losing 10% of its value against the U.S. dollar over the past three weeks, triggering panic and the run on deposits, which threatens to undermine the banking sector.

President Viktor Yushchenko on Monday announced his economic rescue package that includes about 20 bills, including the creation of the state stabilization fund worth several billion US dollars and increase in guaranteed deposits to 100,000 hryvnias ($20,000) from 50,000 hryvnias.

But Yushchenko’s two main political rivals, Tymoshenko and former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, scrambled to draft their own anti-crisis measures, all of them had been scheduled for the debate in Parliament.

None of the political groups is able to approve the legislation on its own without counting on support from other groups, which makes cooperation between at least two groups crucial.

Although Tymoshenko and Yanukovych unveiled little details of their anti-crisis legislation, all of them appear to call for the creation of the stabilization fund and increasing guaranteed deposits, the key initiatives of the Yushchenko plan.

Yushchenko also called for slashing by 20% spending on state bureaucracy, review of imports duties to reduce imports, cutting populist social spending and eliminating budget deficits in 2008 and 2009.

Finance Minister Viktor Pynzenyk, said Wednesday that was very hard, if not impossible, to eliminate deficit in the 2008 budget, suggesting her rescue package anticipates leaving an undisclosed deficit.

Yushchenko’s package also addresses potential problem of repayment of almost $40 billion in corporate foreign debts by some banks and companies. Yushchenko said a special team has been already working on ways of optimizing the payments.

The International Monetary Fund, which is in talks with Ukraine over up to $14 billion loan, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development may be asked to help to handle those payments.

Tymoshenko lawmakers have been blocking Parliament since Tuesday amid concerns that the legislature may approve amendments to the 2008 budget that opens financing for the early election due December 14.

Yanukovych indicated on Thursday that his Regions Party, the largest opposition group, will not back Tymoshenko’s package.

Yanukovych said that Tymoshenko, who persisted with populist spending since January, was the one who was mostly responsible for the magnitude of the crisis in Ukraine, and must be removed.

“Today the Tymoshenko Bloc suggests to lead the anti-crisis government fighting the crisis that they have created,” Yanukovych said. “I want to say should they have consciousness, they wouldn’t suggest this. First of all they have to admit what they did to the country and only after that we can sit down and talk with them.”

“Another option, I think it’s the most probable, it to fire the government immediately and to appoint the anti-crisis government. This must be done in Parliament and then we should go for the election.” (tl/ez)