Financial and economic approaches to interactions between the state and nuclear industry are based first of all on the fundamental principle according to which the nuclear power plants and the company "Energoatom" that operates them function due to the Law of Ukraine "On Entrepreneurship", hence they are supposed to provide the self-support and profitability of the production of electric power. They shall guarantee not only complete safety of this sort of production, but also a profitability of the work and paying all the taxes and due payments like any other enterprise set on the entrepreneurial basis shall do.

Furthermore, the Government understands that a stable work of the power complex, the background of which is nuclear power plants, makes the basis of economic safety of the country. That accounts for why the work of the power industry is constantly in the focus of attention of the Cabinet of the Ministers of Ukraine and of the Ministry of Finance. It would be enough to say that only in 1998 there were adopted about 30 decisions relating to priority trends of stabilizing the situation in the power industry. First of all, it means the financial improvement of the industry, improvement of settlements for the used power and liquidation of indebtedness of the consumers, making the required supplies of fuel to work in the autumn and wintry seasons. Taking into consideration that production of electric power at nuclear power plants reaches 50 percent of the amount of that generated in the country, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine also takes care of a wide scope of other matters related to the nuclear industry.

There can be singled out the following trends in functioning of the nuclear power sector that the attention of the Government is focused on:

1. Gradual and safe withdrawal of Chornobyl NPP out of operation and settling the consequent socio-economic problems.
2. Completion of the construction of the units of a high-readiness level at Rivne NPP and Khmelnytsky NPP.
3. Provision of uninterrupted operation of nuclear power plants in the conditions of the crisis of payments and general economic crisis in the state.
4. Settling the problems related to liquidation of the consequences of the Chornobyl catastrophe (A special topic. Not to be considered in the report.)

Since 1992 the State budget of Ukraine has provided funds for financing the costs on keeping the shut power units at Chornobyl NPP, including there 31.4 million hryvnias for 1998 (in 1997 there were actually allocated 28.9 million hryvnias). The said funds are provided in accordance with the provisions of the Resolution of the Cabinet of the Ministers of Ukraine of June 1, 1992 "On the measures aimed at the withdrawal of Chornobyl NPP out of operation" (Item 7) and of Resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine #184/97- (Items 1, 3) "On the situation concerning the safety and prospects for development of the nuclear industry in Ukraine and the problems relating to the withdrawal of Chornobyl NPP".

Aiming at fulfillment of Resolution of the Cabinet of the Ministers of Ukraine #1445 of December 22, 1997 "On withdrawal of Chornobyl NPP - Unit 1 out of operation before the time" (Item 2), there is under development a draft of "The Program of stopping operation of Power Unit 1 at Chornobyl NPP". The following points are taken into consideration with that:

• Memorandum on the mutual understanding between the government of the G-7 countries, Commission of the European Community and the Government of Ukraine in relation of shutting down Chornobyl NPP provides a certain participation of Ukraine, and, in particular, state resources in financing this process. However, the said Program does not define clearly what financial resources in the form of investments and credits, grants, etc., have already been received, whether they shall be received by Ukraine for the mentioned purpose, how the donor-countries shall participate in the investments for financing this Program. What national sources of financing, and, primarily, all industrial resources, can be involved with the said aim.
• As for the budget financing within the nearest years is concerned, so, due to the Ministry of Finance, it does not seem to be real in the state under the complicated economic conditions to increase financing from the State budget as compared with that in 1998. Therefore, the amounts of the financing provided by this Program to be made from the budget, shall be corrected for every next year.
• It must be underlined that, due to the situation that set resulting from fulfillment of the above Memorandum, at the present time the Government of Ukraine is considering the issues concerning a possibility to continue operation of Chornobyl NPP - Unit 2.

One of the measures aimed at supporting the said NPP was the decision of the Government (Resolution #629- of October 31, 1997) to commission the Ministry of Emergencies with financing in November-December 1998 the costs of the repair of Chornobyl NPP - Unit 3 amounting to 20 million hryvnias from the Chornobyl Fund.

An important point in relation of Chornobyl NPP is The Agreement on a Grant (Draft on Nuclear Safety of Chornobyl NPP) - a special certificate is added.

• Pursuing at fulfillment of Resolution of the Cabinet of the Ministers of Ukraine #1323 of November 28, 1997 "On the financial provision for construction of Power Unit 2 at Khmelnytsky and Power Unit 4 at Rivne NPP", the National Commission for Regulation of the Power Industry in Ukraine on January 1, 1998 charged a purposeful addition to the tariff on the State enterprise "The National Nuclear Power Generating Company (NAEK) "Energoatom ", the addition rated to US 0.3 cents per 1 kW× yr.
• The Cabinet of the Ministers of Ukraine by its Regulation #649- of August 3, 1998 adopted the proposal of the Ministry of Energy on permitting the NAEK "Energoatom", in accordance with the legislation, to delay in the payment to the budget of the indebtedness on the income tax that resulted from the purposeful addition to provide completion of the construction of the said units; the addition was set to the tariff on electric power in accordance with Resolution # 1323 of the Cabinet of the Ministers of Ukraine of November 28, 1997, as well as that of the calculated fine.
• In accordance with Resolution of the Cabinet of the Ministers of Ukraine #246 of March 2 1998, every month 3.5 million hryvnias from the funds, purposed on paying for the electric power generated by nuclear power plants, shall be used on completion of the construction of Rivne NPP - Unit 4 (3 million hryvnias have been transferred as a matter of fact).
• In accordance with Resolution of the Cabinet of the Ministers of Ukraine #1236 of August 5, 1998 "On the redistribution of the funds liable to financing from the funds received as the result of changing the decreasing factor when applying the depreciation rates", the financing for these units shall be provided in the amount of 12 million hryvnias for each unit.
• Aiming at improvement of the situation with paying the wages to the construction, installation, commissioning organizations and their divisions involved into fulfillment of the works to complete the construction of Zaporizhzhia NPP, as well as to intensify the rates of performing the works at the construction of Unit 4 at Rivne NPP and Unit 2 at Khmelnytsky NPP and their commissioning, the Cabinet of the Ministers of Ukraine together with the National Bank sent the Government Telegrams #37-512/98 of February 24, 1998 and #25-017/353-142 about an exclusive granting the above organizations the rights to use on urgent needs funds of an enterprise in the amount of 50 percent of the incomes of the current accounts in the previous month.

To improve the economic situation at the enterprises of the nuclear industry because of the non-payment crisis, the Cabinet of the Ministers of Ukraine and the National Bank granted these enterprises an exclusive right, valid in 1997 (with its prolongation until May 1, 1998), while calculating funds for the needs of the enterprise, to take into account 50 percent of the incomes after selling products, fulfillment of works and provision of services in the previous year.

The commission of the Prime Minister of Ukraine of May 6, 1998 provided the state joint-stock power generating companies and the heat - and hydraulic power plants with the right to calculate in 1998 funds for the urgent needs of an enterprise in the amount of 15 percent of the volume of the product output in the previous month according to the statistical reporting.

Currently, the Ministry of Finance, pursuing at exertion of Resolution of the Cabinet of the Ministers of Ukraine #1553 of September 29, 1998, is working on the issue of defining more clearly the amount of the indebtedness of the enterprises and institutions, financed from the local budgets, for the used electric and thermal energy, which will make it possible for the Ministry of Energy to direct a part of the funds, that were provided in the State budget of Ukraine for 1998 as subsidies to the regional budgets, as paying that sort of the indebtedness; there is also in process a centralized taking back from the state budget through the National Nuclear Power Generating Company "Energoatom" the indebtedness for the value-added tax to the nuclear power plants in the amount of 29,277 thousand hryvnias; the plants being within the sphere of the control by this company, and the aim is to pay the NPPs employees their delayed wages.

A very important problem in the field is delivery of fresh nuclear fuel and settlement for it, what is exerted, in particular, due to the delivery scheme within the frames of the Agreement between the Government of Ukraine and the Government of the Russian Federation aimed at implementation of the trilateral agreements between the Presidents of Ukraine, Russia and the USA of January 14, 1994 (the compensation fuel).

Fuel was delivered for the Ukrainian NPPs on the compensation basis in 1996 - its cost was US $192 million, and in 1997 - the cost of the latter was US $184 million. The total cost of the compensation fuel delivered since 1995 (the date when the International agreement got into effect) is US $706 million. In 1998 delivery of the rest of 179 compensation fuel assemblies will be performed, the total cost of that is US $81.7 million.

Aiming at provision of NPPs with fresh nuclear fuel, as well as with equipment, materials for performing repair works at the power units, bringing out of the used nuclear fuel, a set of measures were provided by Resolution of the Cabinet of the Ministries of Ukraine #60 of January 21, 1998 (addressed supplies of electric power). To provide settlements for the deliveries of fresh nuclear fuel between 1998 and 1999 and taking the used nuclear fuel out, Resolution of the Cabinet of the Ministers of Ukraine # 1136 of July 25, 1998 adopted a provision for the order of granting, circulation and canceling the promissory notes from the Joint Ukrainian-Russian Venture "TVEL-Energiya".