Ivan Kostov, former Prime Minister of Bulgaria visited KSE with #UkraineReforms project

On Oct. 12-14 the Kyiv School of Economics together with the Reanimation Package of Reforms and Stronger Together was honored to host the visit of former Prime Minister of Bulgaria Ivan Kostov within the frame of #UkraineReforms project of Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies.

Mr.Kostov delivered a lecture at KSE and participated in a discussion about tax reform in Ukraine together with deputy Business Ombudsman of Ukraine Yaroslav Gregirchak, expert of the Reanimation Package of Reforms and CASE Ukraine Volodymyr Dubrovskyi and KSE professor of business Mykhailo Kolisnyk. “For the reforms to happen you need those, who will shoulder the responsibility. If there are no such people, there will be no reforms or they will be implemented slowly. Politicians tend to postpone reforms,” – Mr.Kostov emphasized.

You can watch the recorded version of the lecture here

During his visit to Ukraine Mr.Kostov also took part in a discussion with the adviser of General Staff of Ukrainian Armed Forces Ruslan Kavatsiuk and head of analytical agency Da Vinci Group Anatoliy Baronin at Ukrainian Crisis Media Center. Mr.Kostov presented the report on Russia’s hybrid war against Ukraine, which was prepared by Bulgarian Center for Risk Analysis and Management headed by Kostov.

Recorded version of the discussion is available here

Together with the experts of the Reanimation Package of Reforms Mr.Kostov also discussed Ukraine’s monetary policy and external debt. Mr.Kostov recommended to change the tax system in Ukraine, so that the budget revenues from taxes do not exceed 39-40 percent. He advised to reduce subsidies and replace part of them with social assistance. During his tenure on the post of Prime Minister Mr.Kostov introduced currency board to curb the inflation and stabilize the currency. He, though, wouldn’t suggest to follow the path of Bulgaria in Ukraine. While the currency board can last no longer than 15-20 years and by that time the country should join the EU currency system, there is no guarantee Ukraine will be able to do that within that time frame, according to Mr.Kostov.