On Monday First Vice-Premier and Finance Minister Mykola Azarov met with Ian Bogue of the European Union, who has just started his diplomatic mission in Ukraine. The vice-premier’s adviser Vitaly Lukianenko told The Day that the EU representative noted that the Ukraine-EU action plan adopted last week offers practical solutions to certain economic problems. Mr. Bogue said that even if the action plan does not go as far as Ukraine would like, it offers an opportunity to integrate into the European market. The first vice-premier stressed that Ukraine’s European integration course remains unchanged, although he believes the time has come for pragmatic actions, rather than declarations, on the part of the Ukrainian government in order to meet the Hague and Maastricht criteria, and that this would remove from the agenda the issue of whether Ukraine can be a member of the European community of nations. “Our objective consists of meeting European economic, civil, and humanitarian standards, and this is precisely what the government’s policy is ultimately focused on,” declared Mr. Azarov.
At Ian Bogue’s request, Mr. Azarov commented on certain aspects of Ukraine’s budgetary, taxation, and fiscal policies, emphasizing the cabinet’s consistent stand on restricting regulatory interference in business. Mr. Azarov pointed out that the liberalization of the regulatory sphere would continue, along with strengthening the judicial system to provide better guarantees of secure investments and investor rights. He is sure that the problem of VAT refunds has been practically solved. As for separate issues that foreign businesses regard as questionable, the first vice-premier said that he was prepared to deal with each one personally. Mr. Azarov also dwelt on certain irrefutable facts that point to the stability of government finances, and the controllability and predictability of the budgetary process as the basis of economic growth.
Ian Bogue believes that Ukraine has the potential to proceed from the partnership and neighborhood agreement to a higher level of integration with the EU. At any rate, he considers that Ukraine’s WTO membership, which the European Union welcomes, will pave the way for a free Ukraine-EU trade zone.
