mr president it is interesting to see that ukraine is so often on our agenda
i hope this signifies progress in our relationship
i tend to believe that with pragmatism and respect on both sides understanding differences but finding common interests we can build on common projects and achieve an honest partnership
i appreciate the recent statements of the ukrainian leadership which i hope now are putting aside some fears that ukraine is moving away from a european future
on the other hand any debate on ukraine has a tendency to become a war between the european political families of the opposition and government political parties of ukraine
i think this does not help because it is not about who is better government or opposition or who is better supported by the europeans it is about ukrainian citizens democratic future and about ukrainians having a strong democratic and prosperous country
the summit that took place this week achieved good results in fostering access to eu programmes and in the negotiations on the association agreement
i am particularly happy to see long-awaited progress towards a free trade area
of course much remains to be done in terms both of economic and institutional reforms and the steps taken should be consolidated
no exemptions should be allowed to be made under the public procurement law which was adopted earlier this year not even for the european football championship
while a new tax code is a good step towards improving the fiscal environment this should not become a burden especially on smes which play such an important role in any healthy economy
but let me be clear
this is not about us telling ukraine what to do and it is not about what ukraine needs to do for us
it is primarily about what ukraine needs to do for itself because both institutional and economic reforms are a prerequisite for a prosperous democratic future and this is in the ukrainian citizens best interest
