President proposes creating special economic zone in Crimea

Yushchenko said that he had signed a decree ordering the Cabinet of Ministers and the Crimean Council of Ministers to draft within a month a bill introducing an economic regime in Crimea, which, in his opinion, would differ from that in the rest of Ukraine.

He said that the special economic regime should foresee new budgetary, fiscal, economic, and investment methods of behavior for economic entities and government agencies.

Yushchenko said that the regime should apply to such sectors as healthcare, tourism, agriculture, defense industry, etc.

He said that such a regime on the peninsula should be in effect for at least 20 years.