-Russian government tries to mitigate effects of pension reform
In Russia, the government is trying to alleviate the impact of the harshly criticized pension reform. The pension reform draft, which increases the retirement age from 60 to 65 for men and from 55 to 63 for women, was adopted by the Duma, (State Assembly) on July 19.
However, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the pension reform should be softened, stating that women should have a retirement age of 60.
In the Duma last week, a draft law was passed on the transfer of assets of those who are involved in corruption to the Pension Fund along with penalties for companies that violate the rights of people who are close to retirement age.
If the bill on transferring the assets of people involved in corruption to the Pension Fund is enacted, some 1.8 billion rubles could be transferred to the fund in the first five years starting from 2019.
The draft law also stipulates that companies will be punished if they fire or do not hire people close to pension age without providing a valid reason.
Following the Federation Council’s adoption for the enactment of the bill, Putin's signature is required for the drafts to become law.
After the pension reform declaration was announced, the United Russia Party, known to be supported by Putin lost votes in local elections in September. In addition to the loss of votes, tens of thousands of protestors, who oppose the reforms, took to the streets in many cities in the country.
Ukraine announces possible loss due to "Nord Stream 2"
If the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project is implemented, Ukraine’s gross domestic product (GDP) could see losses of 2.5 to 3 percent due to a reduction in export services, the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine said.
In its written statement Thursday, the ministry said when the Nord Stream 2 is complete; Germany would strengthen its position as a "hub" in the West and Central European natural gas markets.
The project, which is expected to cost around €10 billion, is planned to ship 55 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to Germany via the Baltic Sea.
Russian energy company Gazprom exported 194.4 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Europe last year, while about 30 percent of the gas was shipped via Ukraine.