Introduction
EU Ambassador Teixeira’s View on Ukraine Ukraine has made good progress towards building an increasingly close relationship with the EU. As José Manuel Pinto Teixeira, European Union Ambassador to Ukraine explains, “Ukraine was the first post Soviet country after 2004 to be offered an Association Agreement with the EU. Now it should work hard to embrace EU values, including ensuring democracy, human rights, protection of minorities, rule of law, and an open, market oriented economy. The EU is providing a very comprehensive programme of assistance for Ukraine. There is no question that Ukraine is already a European country, but it needs to go through a serious process to meet EU criteria, particularly at the political level.” And this road is still marred by serious shortcomings. In spite of the EU’s assistance Ukraine still has not adopted an electoral code which would be in line with OSCE/ODHR recommendation and its own commitments with the EU as provided for in the Association Agenda. The latest developments with regard to the electoral reform are of serious concern, especially taking into account the October 2010 local elections, which were considered as a step backwards in comparison with the last Presidential elections. Now, according to José Manuel Pinto Teixeira, “Ukraine needs political leaders who will put the interests of the country’s citizens ahead of their own economic interests. This is the main challenge for Ukraine’s leadership today: defining objectives and transforming them into reality in a smooth process.”
Business environment being upgraded Another priority is to upgrade Ukraine’s business environment by combating corruption, removing bureaucratic hurdles, and improving the performance of public institutions. Such improvements will serve to attract the foreign investment that Ukraine urgently needs in order to move forward. José Manuel Pinto Teixeira explains, “Ukraine offers vast investment prospects. It is a huge country that has the most fertile farmland in the world, an educated workforce,
José Manuel Pinto Teixeira, European Union Ambassador
an increased number of multilingual young people, a sizeable consumer base, and access to the EU, yet its infrastructure is still undeveloped. While investing here now is still a challenge, we are working on negotiating a unique Association Agreement including a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement. If the Association Agreement would be signed and implemented, it would significantly improve Ukraine’s investment appeal. Ukraine’s future could be potentially very bright.” José Manuel Pinto Teixeira notes that Ukraine has the potential to offer strong prospects in agriculture, tourism and manufacturing. He concludes, “Ukraine needs to bring its agriculture sector up to international standards. A number of major foreign investors in agriculture have already come here, including from the UK, but the lack of land ownership and the absence of clear rules are an issue faced by investors across sectors. As for tourism, Ukraine is a beautiful country with very hospitable people. In addition, in certain areas the manufacturing sector is competitive.”
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