Motion: The Ukrainian Government Should Stop Subsidizing Businesses During the Current...

Motion: The Ukrainian Government Should Stop Subsidizing Businesses During the
Current Economic Crisis

Audience Divided at Debate Sponsored by the Foundation for Effective
Governance and Intelligence Squared

KYIV, Ukraine, June 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ukrainian government's subsidies
support program of public and private companies was the subject of a June 11th
debate in Kyiv, organized by London-based Intelligence Squared and the
Ukrainian Foundation for Effective Governance (FEG). Panelists provided
arguments for and against the motion "The state should stop subsidizing
businesses during the crisis." Audience members were invited to vote before
and after the debate.

"According to the liberal market model of economy, companies unable to survive
by themselves must leave the market, and the sooner this happens the faster
their place will be taken by more effective businesses," stated Nataliya
Izosimova, Managing Director of the Foundation for Effective Governance.
"However, many companies needing a bailout are major employers in their towns.
Therefore, their bankruptcy will result in mass unemployment and huge social
fallout."

Supporters of the motion stated that removing uncompetitive companies would
improve the economy by allowing more efficient businesses to prosper, in part
by enabling economic assets such as investment, skilled workers and
entrepreneurial initiatives to be redistributed.

The other side of the debate contended that if the government allows companies
to go bankrupt, the resulting loss of jobs would exacerbate the downturn,
possibly leading to permanent economic losses for entire industries in
Ukraine.

The Oxford Style debate featured three speakers on either side of the motion.
Each speaker was given seven minutes of uninterrupted time to present their
arguments, followed by a question and answer session, closing statements, and
a final audience vote.

Irina Akimova, MP and Deputy Chair of the Parliamentary Committee of Economic
Policy, spoke for the motion: "The arguments in favor of subsidizing
businesses during the crisis are myths created by lobby interests.
Governmental support often benefits owners at the expense of the overall
economy and society as a whole."

Another speaker for the motion, Boris Krasnyanskiy, Managing partner of
PricewaterhouseCoopers in Ukraine, mentioned that overcoming the current
economic crisis cannot be the effort of just one country: "I believe that it
is a waste of time to try to get the country out of the crisis, which is not
of internal nature and which emerged as the result of a global downturn. This
is beyond the control of the state. That is why I believe we should stop
fighting against the crisis and start doing the right things - we should start
preparing for post-crisis time and in particular, we should take efforts to
make the country more competitive."

Speaking against the motion, Anatoly Blyzniuk, Chair of Donetsk Regional
Council, stated: "The best way to ensure that businesses survive is to set up
a regulatory framework that provides a systematic economic policy for regional
development."

At the same time, Oleksiy Kuznetsov, Smart Holding CEO, emphasized that pure
market rules are applicable in stable economies only: "The idea of a state
regulator, which monitors how the 'invisible hand of the market' independently
settles all economic problems, is pleasant with its logicality and theoretical
maturity. But the 'invisible hand of the market' works well in a stable
economy, where clear rules exist and where one can plan and foresee key trends
for its changes."

This was the third in a series of debates on the Ukrainian economy held in
2009 by Intelligence Squared and FEG. The two previous debates focused on the
topics "The economic crisis is the best time to introduce major economic
reforms," and "Ukraine must institute agricultural land reform now." Future
debates will include regional economic development, tax policy and other
issues. More information is available at http://en.debaty.org.

About The Foundation for Effective Governance
The Foundation for Effective Governance (FEG), an independent public policy
institution, was formed in 2007 by Ukrainian businessman Rinat Akhmetov.
FEG's main objective is to encourage the development of long-term national
economic programs for Ukraine, through the formulation of practical policy
solutions to the political, economic and social challenges facing the country.
The basic principles governing FEG's activities are independence, a focus on
economic development, openness, and a practice-oriented approach. FEG's
International Advisory Board includes former Prime Minister of Canada Kim
Campbell, Chair; former U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee; and Gyorgy Suranyi, former
president of the National Bank of Hungary. More information is available at
www.feg.org.ua/en.

About Intelligence Squared
Intelligence Squared has a long and successful history of conducting Oxford
style debates in London, Sydney, New York, and other major cities. Starting
from January 2009, the debates in London and New York are broadcast on BBC
World News. It is estimated that 70 million viewers around the globe will
watch the forums.

SOURCE Foundation for Effective Governance

Joshua Greenwald, Rubenstein Public Relations, +1-212-843-8037,
jgreenwald@rubensteinpr.com