Comment by the Ambassador of Ukraine to the EU to the «European Voice» ahead of Ukraine-EU Summit (19 November 2010)
“The 14th EU-Ukraine Summit will be the first Summit for newly elected President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych. We want this Summit to be as pragmatic as possible, focused on concrete issues. We hope that this Summit will be remembered for the launching of the visa liberalization process. Our hope is that the Action Plan for visa free regime could be presented to Ukraine at the Summit. It shall be the most important signal of trust in our relations. It will also be an encouraging message to the Ukrainian citizens to demonstrate that painful reforms the country has to implement will be one day repaid through, among other, abolishing of short term stay visas.
The Summit shall also give an impetus to the negotiation process of the Association Agreement to enter its final stage. The 4th Joint Progress Report on Negotiations on the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, stating that both EU and Ukraine consider the completion of the negotiations as a key short term objective, will be approved by the Summit.
The Protocol to the EU-Ukraine Partnership and Cooperation Agreement allowing Ukraine to participate in EU programs will be signed. The Protocol will pave the way for participation in EU programs in business and entrepreneurship, energy and information, communication and technology. This is a step forward towards further convergence of Ukrainian policies with EU norms, standards and best practices.
In the field of energy the leaders will welcome the signing by Ukraine of the Protocol on accession to Energy Community Treaty and will sum up the latest developments of Ukraine-EU relations by approving the 5th Joint Progress Repot on Implementation of the relevant Memorandum of 2005. Ukraine hopes that the leaders will support the initiative of the President of Ukraine to hold the international pledging event coinciding with the 25th anniversary of Chornobyl nuclear disaster and to cooperate with G8 members in order to raise the funds necessary to bring the Chornobyl NPP projects to a successful conclusion.
If all these issues are approved by the leaders at the Summit, I think we will have the right to say that the Summit has been one of the most fruitful in recent years».