Balcerowicz: Ukraine needs to break apart monopolies and privatise state-owned firms

  Leszek Balcerowicz, the author of Poland's post-communist transition to a market economy, which has been appointed adviser to the Ukrainian president last week, has already commented the economic situation in Ukraine. "Ukraine needs to break apart monopolies and privatise state-owned firms to transform itself into a well-functioning capitalist economy," he said. According to Balcerowicz, Ukraine needs more more business-friendly regulation and to safeguard budget stability "There have been reforms in Ukraine, but they were too slow and too fragmentary. As a result, a system emerged which was not a socialist system, but was not good capitalism," Balcerowicz told reporters, describing the country's path since it gained independence in 1991. He said most Ukrainian state firms "are not functioning, but some still are. But as it usually is with state-owned firms, they function not really well," Balcerowicz said. "Hence, one needs a program of restructuring and after some time privatisation, so as not to continue this bad state of things. And there are no reservations in this area on the side of Ukrainian authorities," he said.