Ukrainian President Victor Jushchenko wants his country to be closer to the workings of the European Union, and his visit to Brussels ahead of the potential signing of a political agreement between the 27-nation bloc and the Ukraine in Kyiv on 4th December was proof that he is serious about it.
Click on the audio icon to listen to a report by John Beauchamp.
Jerzy Buzek welcomed the Ukrainian president and said that the European Union and the Ukraine both need each other, both in political and economic terms. The President of the European Parliament also stated that one key policy area that needed to be confronted was energy, stating that it is a “common issue, and a common threat, or challenge,” adding that the EU should play more of a role in the building of a Ukrainian pipeline.
Ukrainian President Victor Jushchenko was pleased with the meeting with Jerzy Buzek, and said that it was the first step on the roadmap for formailsed bilateral relations, adding that there are three main areas which the Ukraine wants to work on, being democratic development, economic reform and the development of productive relations with the EU.
The agreement between the European Union and the Ukraine is part of an association accord which is usually signed between the bloc and a country gunning for EU entry. Even though there is no talk of Ukrainian entry now, Jerzy Buzek wants the agreement to be successful in December prior to the presidential election in the Ukraine at the beginning of next year, and that relations will continue to flourish.