mr president we seem to have difficulties in knowing how to deal with our eastern neighbour ukraine
it is just as difficult for ukraine which treats europe one day as an ally another day as a problem
this is why i believe we should be pragmatic recognise the realities on the ground and find common items on our agendas to reach agreements
economic cooperation has always been europe's most powerful engine for greater integration and europe has owed its success to this pragmatic approach since nineteen fifty-six
so we must continue to focus on both institutional and economic reforms to be undertaken by ukraine in parallel
this two-track approach is the only one possible if we want to create a virtuous circle that could lead to democratic stability in this country and in the eastern neighbourhood
a priority should be to support a healthy business environment and the achievement of a functioning market economy in ukraine by encouraging their property and vat reforms and their efforts to combat high-level corruption among other priorities
this is why i see the association agreement as a powerful instrument of reform and it is why we should continue our negotiations on the establishment of a deep and comprehensive free trade area and on ukraine's accession to the energy community treaty
in that context i welcome ukraine's accession to the wto which should be seen as an important step in ukraine's acceptance of european economic standards
i hope that we will be able to overcome the continuous postponement of the fta and encourage the virtuous circle of mutual trust which is beneficial to the whole region and to europe
