On May 20-25 the NGO “West Ukrainian Association of transit cars owners” (NGO ZAVTRA) will hold a nationwide rally “Mykola Zaporozhets” in support of the bills №5561 and №5562, which will contribute to the formation of a civilized market of used cars in Ukraine. The action starts in Lviv and will cover Rivne, Zhytomyr, Kyiv and Lutsk. On May 23, the participants plan to picket the Verkhovna Rada in Kyiv, and on May 24 – to declare the necessity to adopt these documents at the meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on European Integration. The rally will finish in Lutsk.
As it is known, in our country there are reduced rates of duty on import of used cars, but not all Ukrainian may use it to buy cheap cars abroad. The reason is the legal limit. Thus, the reduced rates apply only to vehicles produced after 2010, which are not cheap, and will operate until the end of 2018. In addition for customs clearance of a foreign car on favorable conditions, it is necessary to import it personally.
And our fellow citizens cannot afford to buy a new car because of low income.
“All this makes Ukrainians use old and unsafe cars, or search for different schemes for buying used cars abroad,” comments on the situation the UKROP representative, member of the NGO “ZAVTRA” Mykhaylo Katruk.
According to him, the bills developed by the NGO “ZAVTRA” together with the community “Free people have cars” and MPs from UKROP, will allow Ukrainians to buy cheap and safe foreign cars.
They provide replacement of environmental standards “Euro” for used cars by technical inspection and removal of restrictions on the use of existing preferential rates. The adoption of these bills is hampered by car manufacturers’ lobby. The main argument is that abolition of the requirements on compliance with environmental standards does not comply with EU practice.
In order to prove the absurdity of this statement, the activists bought Zaporozhets, produced in 1991, imported into the EU (Poland), got customs clearance and registered it, having paid quite a reasonable sum of money – 40% of the car’s value.
“Thus, we have confirmed that the mechanism proposed in the bills does not contradict the European standards. So we call on the MPs to adopt these documents and our “Zaporozhets” Mykola takes the road,” said Mykhaylo Katruk.
Schedule of the rally “Mykola Zaporozhets”:
May 20, Saturday, 18:00, Lviv, parking at Victoria Gardens mall.
Meeting with residents and activists, ride around the city.
May 21, Sunday, 11:00, Rivne (venue to be specified).
Meeting with residents and activists, ride around the city.
May 21, Sunday, 19:00, Zhytomyr, Victory Square (next to the tank).
Meeting with residents and activists, ride around the city.
May 22, Monday, Kyiv.
Ride around the city, handing out materials, communication.
May 23, Tuesday, 9:00, Kyiv.
Rally on the square near the Verkhovna Rada.
Press-briefing in Parliament together with MPs.
May 24, Wednesday, Kyiv.
Participation in the meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on European Integration.
May 25, Thursday, Lutsk (venue and time to be specified).
Meeting with residents and activists, ride around the city.
Export of car to Poland.
Contacts:
Mykhaylo Katruk, activist of the NGO “ZAVTRA”, (063) 981 52 71;
Stanislav Buchatskyi, activist of the NGO “ZAVTRA”, (067) 885 27 77;
Pavlo Biletskiyi, activist of the NGO “ZAVTRA”, (050) 974 10 56.
