The UEFA Executive Committee has confirmed Kyiv as host city for group matches, quarter-final match(es) and a semi-final of Euro 2012 football championship, and preliminary selected Donetsk, Lviv, and Kharkiv as host cities if the three Ukrainian cities meet specific conditions by November 30, 2009, with regard to the stadiums, airport infrastructure, regional transport and accommodation.

Ukrainian News learned this from a statement by UEFA posted on its Web site.

As for Ukrainian cities, UEFA notes that the comprehensive review showed important shortcomings regarding infrastructure in all Ukrainian cities in question. Significant work must be undertaken to meet the minimum requirements for an event the size of a final tournament of the UEFA European Championship, according to the statement.

Taking into consideration these risks UEFA has decided to confirm Kyiv as host city for group matches, quarter-final match(es) and a semi-final; not to confirm Kyiv as venue for the final match of UEFA Euro 2012; the final match will be held in Kyiv only if specific conditions with regard to the stadium, airport infrastructure, regional transport and accommodation are met by November 30, 2009.

The UEFA Executive Committee has also decided not to confirm Donetsk, Lviv and Kharkiv as host cities for group matches of UEFA Euro 2012 for the time being; however a last deadline has been granted to these three cities to meet specific conditions by November 30, 2009, with regard to the stadiums, airport infrastructure, regional transport and accommodation.

The UEFA Executive Committee excluded the holding of Euro 2012 matches in Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa.

As for Polish host cities, the UEFA Executive Committee decided to confirm the appointment of the four venues initially proposed by the Polish Football Association during the bidding phase and signed by UEFA as official host cities: Gdansk, Poznan, Warsaw, and Wroclaw. UEFA said progress has been made in the preparation of infrastructure in all four proposed and two reserve cities in Poland.

According to Ukrainian Minister for Affairs of Family, Youth Policy, and Sport Yurii Pavlenko, UEFA has given Ukraine time until November 30, 2009, to show settlement of the problems existing in the cities. If the problems are not settled two of these four cities can be replaced by others, he said.

"I am confident that those problems, these are airports first of all, they will be settled, since today we have received a real chance to become hosts of Euro 2012 European football championship finals," the Ukrainian minister said.

Pavlenko said Ukraine will be strictly obeying all requirements of UEFA concerning preparations of the cities for the football championship.

As Ukrainian News earlier reported UEFA was considering selection of six or eight cities to host Euro 2012 European football championship finals with an option of their non-equal distribution between the co-hosts of the championship: Ukraine and Poland.

Like all other countries, Ukraine is taking a hit from the current financial crisis. The effects of the economic crises have however re-established Ukraine as confirmed location for sustainable low-cost operations:

·         Declining labor cost to level of 2003

·         Slow down of inflation

·         Better access to highly motivated and qualified professionals

 

I herewith provide some interesting extracts from Ukrainian market reports (MAFcon, Ciklum), confirming this comforting news for Western European companies.

Within the last few weeks the banking sector has dried up, and so the construction sector has grinded to a sudden halt. The decreasing demand for raw materials, such as steel, makes prices plummet, and since Ukraine’s industry sector is primarily based on production of raw materials; overall spending in the country is now decreasing. In a few months time, this will have lowered the pressure on salaries and other production costs significantly. While this comes as bad news for the many Ukrainian suppliers of raw materials and some employees, it will be good news for Western European companies. Now, Ukraine will become an attractive low cost manufacturing hub again - an excellent target for plain sourcing, and a perfect target for brain sourcing. With a well-educated work force and huge intellectual resources, Ukraine will be like China, but only two hours away.

The economic recession in Ukraine helped achieve what the government has failed to do for a long time: the inflation slowed down and is unlikely to grow in the foreseeable future.

Labor cost is declining and will hit the 2003 level in 2009. Availability of labor on all levels is growing rapidly. Raw material prices are dropping. And finally will the real estate prices drop significantly. The new monetary policy will make the UHA stabilizing at a level corresponding to the financial standing of the country 1 USD = 8,5-9,5 UHA. All factors, that is in favor of the re-establishment of Ukraine’s low cost advantages.

Ukraine offers by its proximity to the EU and its well educated work force an unique opportunity as a low-cost platform; both with respect to manufacturing but also in science and IT. And Ukraine supports this development.  Lviv City –the capital of Western Ukraine – offers attractive investment incentives to western investors ready to establish themselves in the area.

The growing pool of Ukrainian IT specialists, low labor costs and membership in the WTO since 2008 make Ukraine a competitive and attractive destination that is soon to surpass such popular outsourcing destinations as Ireland and Romania.

Ukraine will lower the salary level due to the following reasons:

·         Ukraine has a big pool of IT specialists with annual add-on of 30,000 graduates from IT related fields.

·         Ukraine will not become a European Union member within the next five to seven years, so the level of prices and salaries will be at least 30 to 40 percent lower than in Europe.

·         Since Ukraine is not a part of the Schengen Zone, the movement of people to work abroad is small and fairly limited.

Our new Skelia offices in Lviv are now fully equiped and installed. The Optima Plaza building provides the ideal access, facilities and growth possibilities we require to support our ambitious company development.

During one of my visits, I took some pictures from our "team in action".

Patrik Vandewalle