What’s the EU

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Also the new framework provides new concrete tools for its implementation including participation in EU programmes and activities and new sources of finance, an Action Plan for Ukraine and Annual Reviews.

In this regard Wider Europe offers an ambitious and realistic framework for strengthening our strategic partnership allowing Ukraine to benefit fully from EU Enlargement. The new avenues offered for cooperation offered by Wider Europe include a perspective of future progressive integration into the EU’s internal market of 450 million consumers

A new tool introduced to implement the New Framework is the Action Plan, a essentially political document to be drawn up by the Commission and EU member States and agreed in association with Ukraine, clearly setting out not only policy targets but also benchmarks by which progress can be judged over several years. These benchmarks should be developed in close cooperation with the partner countries and new benefits should be offered to reflect the progress made in political and economic reform.

The Wider Europe Communication also outlines the Neighbourhood Programmes as a new initiative to take significant steps to deal with the effects of Enlargement boost co-operation across the EU’s borders with Ukraine. Under four different NNPs Ukraine will receive an additional funding of 20 million Euros.

The issue of Ukraine’s membership in the EU is left open for the time being. But during the recent EU-Ukraine summit in Yalta the EU representatives have repeatedly said that the door is kept open for Ukraine. The EU just not ready at this moment to give any concrete date. However, the Treaty of the European Union Article 49 explicitly allows for the possibility of Ukraine becoming a member and the Wider Europe does not exclude it as well.

Sum

The European integration and membership in the European Union is by the strategic purpose of Ukraine because it is by the best way of realization of national interests, construction of the economically advanced and democratic state, strengthening of positions in world system of the international relations. For Ukraine the European integration is a way of modernization of economy, overcoming of technological backwardness, attraction of the foreign investments and newest technologies, creations of new workplaces, increase of a competitive opportunity domestic goods makers, output on the world markets, first of all on the market of EU. The basic political benefits of consecutive European integration are strengthenings stability of democratic political system and it’s institutes, modernization of a legal field and maintenance of a transparency of the national legislation, deepenings of culture of democracy and respect for the rights of the man and etc.

Addition 1

The following agreements are in force in relations between Ukraine and the EU:

1.Agreement between Ukraine and European Community on Trade in Textile Products (signed 5.05.93)

2. Agreement between the Government of Ukraine and the Comission of the European Communities on the Establishment and the Privileges and Immunities of the Delegation of the Comission of the European Communities in Ukraine (signed 9.12.93)

3. Agreement between the Comission of the European Communities and the Government of Ukraine setting up a Contact Group on Coal and Steel (signed 6.06.94)

4. Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Communities and their member states, and Ukraine (signed 14.06.94)

5. Agreement between the Government of Ukraine and the European Coal and Steel Community on Trade in certain Steel Products (signed 15.07.97)

6. Agreement for Cooperation between the European Atomic Energy Community and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in the Field of controlled Nuclear Fusion (signed 23.07.99)

7. Agreement for Cooperation between the European Atomic Energy Community and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in the Field of Nuclear Safety (signed 23.07.99)

8. Scientific and Technical Cooperation Agreement between Ukraine and the EU

Addition 2

Ukraine-EU: Chronology of Bilateral Relations

2004

July 8 - European Union – Ukraine Summit.

May 12 - Adoption of a Strategy Paper on the European Neighbourhood Policy

March-July - Further rounds of consultation on the EU-Ukraine Action Plan

March 30 - Extension of the PCA to the enlarged European Union.

February 24 - 2nd Round of Consultations on EU-Ukraine Action Plan (Brussels)

January 27 - 1st Round of Consultations on EU-Ukraine Action Plan (Kyiv)

2003

December 11 - Sixth EU-Ukraine Co-operation Committee

October 7-8 - Ukraine-European Union Summit

September 11−12 - Visit of Commissioner G. Verheugen to Ukraine to discuss the implementation of the Wider Europe Neighbourhood initiative.

March 18 - The sixth meeting of the EU-Ukraine Cooperation Council took place in Brussels.

Mr. Papandreou, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Greece and the President of the EU Council, Mr. Solana, Secretary-General of the Council/High Representative for EU Common Foreign and Security Policy and Mr. Patten, Member of the European Commission represented the EU delegation. Viktor Yanukovych, Prime Minister of Ukraine, headed the Delegation of Ukraine. During the meeting the parties discussed issues of bilateral EU-Ukraine cooperation, current developments in Ukraine and in the EU, international issues of mutual interest.

March 17 - EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy and Mr. Khoroshkovskyi, Ukrainian Minister of Economy and European Integration conclude bilateral package for Ukraine's accession to the WTO.

February 7 - Ukraine-EU Troika meeting on ministerial level meeting took place in Kyiv. Mr. Solana, Secretary-General, and High Representative for CFSP led the EU delegation.

Mr. Zlenko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine represented the Ukrainian side. During his stay in Kyiv Mr Soland also met the Ukrainian President L. Kuchma.

2002

November 27 - The fifth meeting of the EU-Ukraine Cooperation Committee was held in Brussels to discuss questions of co-operation within the framework of the PCA, the impact of EU enlargment on Ukraine, the New Neighbourhood Initiative and Ukraine's "European choice" policy.

November 11 - First EU Troika and Ukraine meeting at ministerial level with a view to discuss co-operation in the field of justice and home affairs.

July 4 - Summit European Union - Ukraine, Copenhagen, 4th of July 2002

2001

September 11 - At the 4th EU-Ukraine Summit in Yalta on 11th September 2001, EU leaders and the President of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma, reaffirmed their commitment to reinforce the strategic partnership between Ukraine and the EU

2000

January 25 - During the Ukraine-EU Troika meeting at the level of Foreign Minister the Portuguese Presidency in the EU submitted to the Ukrainian side a Working Plan on Implementation of the EU Common Strategy on Ukraine

May 23 - The Third meeting of the Council on cooperation between Ukraine and the EU is slated for this date.

1999

April 26−27 - The second meeting of the Council on EU-Ukraine cooperation

Economic aspects of bilateral relations are considered.

The success of the Joint Working Program on Implementation of the Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation is underscored.

June 3-4 - EU Cologne summit The EU noted qualitatively new achievements in relations with Ukraine

July 23 - The Third Ukraine-EU summit (Kyiv) Progress in EU recognition of Ukraine's course on integration into the EU The EU reaffirmed its intention to promote Ukraine's accession to the WTO.