ISSUE #12
04/11/2011

Another round of the talks on setting up a free trade area (FTA) between Ukraine and the EU has been held in Brussels. During the negotiations, the parties continued their discussion of institutional, general and concluding articles of an agreement. They also exchanged opinions regarding the prospects for reaching a deal on unresolved issues. Additionally, both parties reaffirmed their intention to complete the talks on signing an EU-Ukraine association agreement in 2011 and agreed to conduct the next round of negotiations in June 2011. READ MORE

• Gorshenin Weekly  |  Published on EGF: 13.04.2011  |  External Relations
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ISSUE #11
04/04/2011

The leader of the Fatherland party, Yulia Tymoshenko, believes that the current government policy makes Ukraine's integration into the European Union (EU) impossible. "If the Ukrainian government continues to destroy freedoms and liberties of people, ruin democracy, justice, freedom of speech - everything that Europe perceives as a foundation for reforming the life of society - we cannot count on either visa-free travel or Ukraine's joining a free trade area (FTA) with the EU or an association agreement between Ukraine and the EU," she said. READ MORE

• Gorshenin Weekly  |  Published on EGF: 05.04.2011  |  External Relations
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Almost half of Ukrainians ready for protest actions - poll

The Gorshenin Institute held a telephone poll of public opinion between 25 and 27 March 2011 to find out the protest moods of Ukrainians. A total of 1,000 respondents aged over 18 were selected randomly in all regional centres of Ukraine, in Kiev and Sevastopol. Polling quotas are established based on respondents’ age, sex and area of residence. The sample error does not exceed 3.2%. READ MORE

• Gorshenin Institute  |  Published on EGF: 05.04.2011  |  External Relations
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Prosecutor-General Office’s Controversial Actions Fuel Distrust in Gongadze Case – experts

The Gorshenin Institute conducted an opinion poll among Ukrainian lawyers to learn the prospects of the probe into the Gongadze case, including the legality of the Prosecutor-General’s Office charges against former president Leonid Kuchma. READ MORE

• Gorshenin Institute  |  Published on EGF: 05.04.2011  |  External Relations
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Ukraine deserves a special partnership with the EU – experts

Anticipating the first meeting of the Eastern Partnership’s Parliamentary Assembly (Euronest), Gorshenin Institute asked experts about its potential impact on the development of the EU-Ukrainian relations, its possible outcome without the participation of Belarus, and Ukraine’s chances for the EU integration when compared with neighboring states. READ MORE

• Gorshenin Institute  |  Published on EGF: 23.03.2011  |  External Relations
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ISSUE #07
03/07/2011

The Ukrainian parliament has debated and voted in favor of 33 clauses of a draft law on preventing and fighting corruption in Ukraine, which was proposed by President Viktor Yanukovych. The lawmakers sent part of Article 12 of the draft law, which talks about declaring the revenue and expenditure of state officials, for revision. READ MORE

• Gorshenin Weekly  |  Published on EGF: 11.03.2011  |  External Relations
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Parliament members attempt softening provisions of anti-corruption law as much as possible to satisfy personal needs – Experts

The Gorshenin Institute held a round table discussion Fighting Corruption: Ukrainian Style, where experts discussed the problem of corruption in the country and the ways to combat it.
The participants in the round-table discussion said that the corruption-fighting shall be managed by authorities independent from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and working on different principles than the Ministry. READ MORE

• Gorshenin Institute  |  Published on EGF: 11.03.2011  |  External Relations
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ISSUE #06
02/28/2011

President Viktor Yanukovych has created a group of scholars and experts who will set up a Constitutional Assembly to amend the Ukrainian constitution. Former Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk was appointed as the head of the group. The presidential administration said that the Constitutional Assembly would draw up a new draft of the nation's fundamental law. “This draft will be widely debated by the public and then sent to parliament as a presidential bill,” the president's press service explained. READ MORE

• Gorshenin Weekly  |  Published on EGF: 04.03.2011  |  External Relations
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ISSUE #05
02/21/2011

Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said the Free Trade Agreement with European Union (EU) is 90 per cent ready.
Azarov said however that the remaining unsettled issues are the most sensitive to Ukraine. Among those Azarov named EU requirement to set quotas to Ukrainian agriculture products and position regarding Ukrainian motor carriers entering the EU market. Azarov said Ukraine will protect its interests on these positions. “Of course, Ukraine does not need a free trade deal at any cost. The deal shall meet the interests of Ukrainians”, – he said. He also added that the quotas that EU is offering now are not consistent with Ukraine's potential. “We make this deal not for one ortwo years but for tens of years, and that is why we need to think of perspectives. The approach not to allow Ukrainian agriculture products to European markets has no perspective”, - Azarov said adding that Ukrainian carriers also expect equal conditions of work at the European markets. READ MORE

• Gorshenin Weekly  |  Published on EGF: 22.02.2011  |  External Relations
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The Gorshenin Institute held a round-table discussion Russia-Ukraine-EU: Prospects for Mutual Relations on 17 February 2011 in the framework of the Project “Viktor Yanukovych’s First Year of Presidency. Conclusions”.

The member of the European Parliament, co-chairman of the joint parliamentary committee on EU - Ukraine cooperation, Pawel Kowal, in his written comments to Gorshenin Institute said that the recent events in Ukraine do not move the country closer to the EU. Kowal said that the EU and especially some members of the European Parliament are particularly concerned watching the developments in Ukraine. Kowal said that a lot of information appeared recently showing Ukraine’s drift towards the Russian model of “sovereign democracy”. He did not rule out that the serious work and achievements that Ukrainians have made over the past few years may be ruined. In particular, Kowal told about European politicians’ concerns and disappointment with the Ukrainian Prosecutor-General’s Office ban to the leader of the Batkivschyna party, Yuliya Tymoshenko, to visit Brussels. “Lack of credibility may pull down Ukraine to lower league of countries which are subject of constant worriment from the UE side. We already had a yellow light: Freedom House rated Ukraine as a partly democratic country” – Kowal said. READ MORE

• Gorshenin Institute  |  Published on EGF: 22.02.2011  |  External Relations
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