19/04/2001 (Agence Europe) - Visiting Kiev on Thursday, Javier Solana, EU High Representative for external policy, assured that "the enlargement of the European Union will provide Ukraine with an immense new opportunity for trade and the encouragement of inward investment". The Ukraine will also benefit, he added "having on its doorstep an area of proven stability and security, which can only lead to a closer relationship between the EU and Ukraine". Javier Solana recognised that there are "some concerns over the specific problems linked to enlargement, not least the issue of the movement of people". He also assured his counterparts that the EU "hears your concerns" and that it is prepared to discuss them with together and, as far as possible, resolve them together. Javier Solana, who "met a range of opinion-formers", underlined that if the Ukraine has carried out over the last ten years a transition towards a democratic and independent state, such a process must be nurtured with care. This means that it is necessary to continue encouraging independence and the opening-up of the media and to accept the need for a dialogue within the political system.