Brussels, 09/04/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 9 April, the European Commission decided to create a support group for Ukraine.
The objective of the group is to help and support Ukraine not only in terms of financial support but also in terms of technical assistance, said European Commission President José Manuel Barroso. The group will also contribute to mobilising the expertise of member states and to strengthening coordination with other fund givers and international finance institutions. The working group will be based on the European agenda for reform - a document put together with the Ukrainian authorities to join the short- and medium-term actions of the EU to the needs of Ukraine.
In the short term - until the end of 2014 - the support group will identify and coordinate with the Ukrainian authorities (benefitting from contributions from member states) the technical assistance that Ukraine needs to: (1) stabilise its political, financial and economic situation; (2) plan and implement reforms aiming to stimulate growth; (3) identify reform priorities, and bring progress to the reforms needed to ensure that immediate benefits can be obtained from the association agreement and action plan on visa liberalisation.
In the medium-term, in other words from 2015, the group will bring additional support to Ukraine in the development and implementation of the reform programmes.
The group, based in Brussels and comprising several dozen people, will be coordinated by Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Füle. It could also be extended to Georgia and Moldova.
Four-sided meeting. On Tuesday 8 April, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton stated that she would meet US Secretary of State John Kerry next week along with the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers, Sergei Lavrov and Andrii Dechtchitsa respectively. The meeting will take place in Europe - but neither the place nor the time are yet known. On 8 April, Ashton spoke to Lavrov on the telephone to discuss the Ukrainian crisis. European Parliament President Martin Schulz wanted “better understanding between the Russian government and the EU”. He is opposed to further sanctions against Russia “for the moment”. “The EU has taken measures and it is not necessary to take out new sanctions for the moment”, he told French news agency AFP. (CG)