Interfax Russia - Moscow, Russia
EU High Representative Javier Solana ahead of the Ukraine-EU summit shared his thoughts about the prospects of Ukraine-EU relations, Ukraine's admission to WTO and also the solution of the problem of Transdniestria in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine and Ukrinform agencies.
Mr. Solana, are you satisfied with
the current state of play in relations between EU and Ukraine? What
progress do you expect to be achieved on the Summit? - Relations between the EU and Ukraine continue
to deepen. 2005 has been a good year in this regard. The Summit is a
good opportunity to take stock of our relationship. You will see
positive messages coming out of it. You and other European politicians for
many times mentioned that the question on the Ukrainian membership is
out of European political agenda, in other words, "everything but
membership". Could this position be evaluated in a future? - The EU - Ukraine partnership is deepening.
This is a common effort, and we have a shared understanding on what
needs to be done now. We should not waste time speculating on the
distant future when there is so much work for us all to do now. Both
Ukraine and the EU are on the move. Both are developing and changing. I
have said many times that the quality of our relationship and its
development is directly linked to the quality of Ukraine's democracy
and reforms. The EU - Ukraine Action Plan is an agenda for reform and
EU support for it. Its implementation needs to be our shared priority.
Together, we must construct a new reality built on a foundation of
many, smaller and irreversible successes. The strength of that
foundation will determine our relationship. Let us just not run ahead
of ourselves. Ukrainian side clearly wishes to replace
Partnership Cooperation Agreement ending on January 1 2008, by "the New
Enhanced Agreement". From your point of view, is Ukraine ready for such
modification and could such a new Agreement foresee a perspective for
joining European Communities? - Work towards a new enhanced agreement is a
key priority for us both. We all realize the benefits of our
relationship and the need to deepen it. The shape and scope of the
agreement will depend on progress made in the fulfillment of the
objectives of the Action Plan. We will jointly start evaluating
progress next year, and this process will then lead to looking more
closely at a new agreement. It looks like Ukraine will not be ready to
join WTO by the end of the year. How this situation could impact on
EU-Ukraine relations, in particular, on a character of the future
bilateral Agreement and on negotiations of the Common Trade Area? - As you know, the EU has been very supportive
of Ukraine's WTO membership. You already have the necessary bilateral
protocol with the EU. In order to attain membership, you need to make
some changes to your laws, and I hope that the Rada will vote on these
soon. I have already described above what kinds of
things can affect the new enhanced agreement. As regards a Free Trade
Agreement, a feasibility study is already under way, and this will
facilitate the launch of negotiations once Ukraine has achieved WTO
membership. Some EU countries, for instance, Poland
and Baltic States, are critical on the Russia-German project on the
Northern Pipeline. Do you share their belief that such pipeline could
be used by Russia as a tool of political pressure on neighboring
countries? - Energy is a key element of the EU - Russia
relationship, and as such also has political aspects. But in the end,
the construction of a new pipeline is a business decision. It would be
far too expensive a project to be undertaken for political purposes.
The energy relationship between the EU and Russia will increase in
importance and volume. I feel sure that all existing pipelines - in
addition to those planned and under construction - will be needed also
in the future, and that we will not have a situation where alternative
routes can be used for political purposes. I also wish to point out that there has been
significant progress in the field of energy co-operation between the EU
and Ukraine. At the Summit, we will sign a MoU on energy co-operation,
with the aim of progressive integration of the Ukrainian and EU energy
markets and the enhancement of energy security. EU succeeds in negotiations with Russia on
the "Four Common Spaces", one of these foresees "shared responsibility
for common neighborhood". What does it mean for the countries
mentioned? What influence could Russia have on EU-Ukraine partnership? - Ukraine is a neighbor of strategic importance
to the EU and a key regional player. We talk a lot with each other
about developments in our common neighborhood, and co-operate closely.
We also talk about these same countries with Russia. Those countries of the former Soviet Union which
are in the common neighborhood of both the EU and Russia are of key
importance for the future of Europe. Both have an interest in the
stable development of this region. Both the EU and Russia play a role
here and their actions influence developments. Both need to act
responsibly. What has changed is that we are all moving away
from thinking in terms of "zero-sum games". An era of "spheres of
influence" has gone, to be replaced by an era of co-operation that
recognizes the sovereignty of the countries in our common neighborhood.
We hope to see these countries become strong and stable democracies,
making their own responsible choices. This is the context in which we
discuss this region with our partners, including with Russia. From your point of view, how effective is
existing format of Transdniestria settlement? What new element could be
brought by EU and US joining in to negotiations? What is EU position on
the Russian troops withdrawal from the region and its demilitarization?
- I am pleased that the EU is now an observer at
the settlement talks. The first meeting took place in late October, and
the EU could fully participate in the discussions and play a role.
Enlargement of the format brings in two leading global actors. The EU
wants to work constructively towards a viable settlement, and looks
forward to working in a constructive manner to this end. As to Russian troops in Transdniestria. As you
know, the EU has repeatedly called for the implementation of the
so-called Istanbul commitments, calling for the withdrawal of Russian
ammunition and troops from the region. As concerns Russian peacekeepers - there are
calls for possible adjustments in the peacekeeping format. We will have
to see what works and at what stage of the settlement process possible
changes should be made. I could imagine that the EU could co-operate
with Russia in finding the right format. OSCE currently propose to monitor the
Transdniestria's defense industry enterprises to stop possible
smuggling from the area of conventional weapons. Do you support such
proposals and have your confirmed information on the facts of such
smuggling, along with such involving human, drugs and goods
trafficking? - In the same way as our engagement on the
border is a confidence-building measure, so would the proposed
monitoring of the Transdniestrian military-industrial complex. There
was some movement on this issue at the last round of settlement talks -
attended by the EU and the US. I warmly welcome this movement, and
support the idea of monitoring. As regards allegations of smuggling, I am aware
of these, but would rather not comment before our border mission has
been on the ground for a while. Ukraine and Moldova have made a
political commitment to address this issue, and the EU has come here,
at the joint invitation of both countries, to help. How EU is going to react and to do if
parliamentary elections in Transdniestria scheduled for December this
year will be not recognized by international community, but will bring
"legacy" to self-proclaimed institutions? - The Ukrainian settlement plan for
Transdniestria builds on the idea of democratic elections to the
Transdniestrian Supreme Soviet. The precondition for such elections are
not there yet. There is hope of an assessment mission being deployed to
evaluate what would be needed for internationally organized free and
fair elections. Ukraine deserves credit for raising the importance of
the democratization of Transdniestria as an element in a viable
settlement. While we cannot expect overnight
democratization, the settlement process should not be held hostage by
any given future event. We need to see where movement towards a
settlement can be realistically found. If an opportunity arises, it
needs to be seized. How could Ukraine be deeper involved in EU
security policy? In particular, are there any possible forms of
Ukrainian participation in EU military arrangements? - One of this year's great success stories is
the strengthening of the EU - Ukraine partnership in the field of
foreign and security policy. Since the spring there has been a notable
convergence of the foreign policy positions and statements of the EU
and Ukraine. We have also signed agreements on the exchange of
classified information and participation in EU operations. While
Ukraine has already sent participants to some EU civilian crisis
management operations, the latter agreement will increase our
opportunities to work together in the field. In addition, the EU has decided to give concrete
support to Ukraine's efforts in destroying its Small Arms and Light
Weapons and their ammunition stockpiles. I also wish to use this
opportunity to welcome ratification by the Rada -- on 16 November -- of
an Additional Protocol to the Non-proliferation treaty, something which
demonstrates the commonality of values between us. At least as important are the increased formal
and informal contacts between the EU and Ukraine in the field of
foreign affairs. In addition to the growing number of formal fora, we
consult much more than earlier on a broad variety of issues. Ukraine
and the EU have become close foreign and security policy partners, and
this partnership is strengthening.
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