Brussels, 19/05/2004 (Agence Europe) - The EU and Ukraine made commitments on Tuesday to do all they could to implement the Action Plan to intensify political and economic relations for the new European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) to be finalised and approved in the next few weeks, preferably during the EU/Ukraine summit on 8 July. The Ukraine would therefore become the first country to benefit from the ENP for which cooperation priorities would be set out on paper.
In a joint declaration approved at the end of the seventh EU/Ukraine Association Council on Tuesday in Brussels, attended by Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich we can read, "Both parties agreed that the European Neighbourhood Policy offers a framework for further reinforcement of EU-Ukraine relations. In this context, the Cooperation Council welcomed the positive involvement of both parties in developing a joint Action Plan. The intention of the two parties is to make considerable progress in finalising the Action Plan in the coming weeks. This document aims at providing a good framework for Ukraine to pursue the political and economic reforms in order to foster a closer EU-Ukraine relationship.".
The EU delegation led by Brian Cowen underlined that the Union supported closer ties with itself and the Ukraine, notably through the ENP and the Action Plan but it also insisted on the many unexplored areas for cooperation. The EU highlighted respect for democratic values, including freedom of the press, as well as the holding of presidential elections that were "fair and transparent" in October, which were preliminary prerequisites for developing supplementary relations.
Mr Cowen insisted to the press that "a strong EU/Ukraine relationship depends on concrete actions by the Administration to up-hold and promote European values and standards, to which freedom of the media and free and fair elections are central". The need for free and fair presidential elections was also stressed by Javier Solana, who held a separate meeting with Mr Yanukovich.
In the area of trade, the EU also expressed its support for the Ukraine's accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The Ukraine, on the other hand, reiterated on Tuesday its request for "market economy status" - a status that would give the country advantages in the framework of EU anti-dumping procedures. Prime minister Yanukovich even expressed his hope that this issue could be settled by the time of the July summit. Commission president Romano Prodi explained that two problems were essentially blocking market economy recognition: "artificial" prices (not fixed by the laws of the market) for a large number of products in the Ukraine and the lack of appropriate legislation for managing bankruptcies. The prime minister announced that work groups would immediately examine these problems in an attempt to find solutions by the time of the summit. Arrangements to continue the dialogue on the possibilities for facilitating visa procedures were also made.