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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(New York: Free Press, 2011) 523 pp.

A Book Review by Andrej Kreutz, Ph.D.

Treisman’s book is a lengthy and relatively well-researched description and analysis of the last 25 years of Russia’s history and its relations with the West. The work is not chronological, but presents discussions of a number of topics chosen by the author, such as: the role of Mikhail Gorbachev (the Captain) in Russian history, the collapse of the USSR, the social and economic transformations, the Mountains (the Caucasus’ problems), falling apart of Russian-American relations, and “the Russia that has returned”. In the special and rather short chapter which is placed in the middle of the book, “The Logic of Politics”, Treisman presents his theory about the mechanisms of changes of Russian politics, which he, perhaps one-sidedly, explains mainly by the variations of the natural gas and oil prices.

• Andrej Kreutz  |  Published on EGF: 20.03.2011
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Issue 3: February 2011

A Snapshot Of Key Developments In The External Relations Of The Russian Gas Sector

The dispute over the implementation of the EU Third Energy Package in Lithuania continues: the question of Europe’s energy security topped the agenda of the first ever EU energy summit which took place in Brussels on 4 February (2011). The summit began with a speech on the integrated EU energy market and general energy policy towards third countries. Special attention is being given to Russia and the dispute between Gazprom and the Government of Lithuania, which has arisen from plans to nationalise gas transmission pipelines belonging to Lietuvos Dujos. READ MORE

• EGF Editorial  |  Published on EGF: 17.03.2011  |  Energy
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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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On 14-28 February 2011, Gorshenin Institute conducted an all-Ukrainian telephone survey on the topic «Viktor Yanukovych: the first year in office» As many as 2,000 randomly sampled adults, aged 18 years and older, living in Ukraine’s regional centers, cities, towns and villages, including Kiev and Sevastopol, were interviewed. Gender, age, and the type of a respondent’s residence were used as quotas. The maximum margin of sampling error is +/-2.2 percentage points. READ MORE

• Gorshenin Institute  |  Published on EGF: 04.03.2011  |  Markets
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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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February 2011

Key positions:

• Former Turkish Prime Minister, Necmettin Erbakan, passed away Sunday 27 February. He was 84. Erbakan, the first Islamist prime minister of the Turkish Republic, was forced to resign after only a year into his reign by the military, in what is called the first ‘post-modern coup’.

• Under the guidance of current Prime Minister Erdogan, Turkey has stayed on the sidelines throughout much of the past weeks while protests raged throughout the Middle East. Ankara is finding its new position as a dominant regional actor as having less impact than previously thought, but has been forced to act pragmatically due to the proximity of its own citizens and financial interests in the affected nations.

• Prime Minister Erdogan recently spoke in Dusseldorf, Germany, telling Turks there that while they should learn the (German) language and participate in wider culture of their new homeland; assimilation would be an affront to their human rights. The prime minister also spoke positively about Turkey’s accession to the EU, surprising some for the positive manner in which the AKP leader addressed the issue after years of European rejection.

• The Nabucco gas pipeline still appears to be up in the air as none of the participating companies have yet signed any construction agreements, while a Russian delegation has put pressure on the Brussels-EU whilst addressing its own energy security concerns. READ MORE

• EGF Editorial  |  Published on EGF: 18.03.2011  |  Energy
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