British minister calls for separating government from business

“Ukraine knows what it needs to do to be considered for possible membership of the European Union: respect for human rights, open elections, separation of the political and administrative class from business,” Minister for Europe in the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Dr. Denis MACSHANE, told the press after giving a speech at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in the course of a two-day visit to Ukraine.

Since Dr. MacShane previously worked as a BBC producer and President of Great Britain’s National Union of Journalists, he was especially concerned about the freedom of speech and rights of journalists in Ukraine. A few months earlier, Dr. MacShane made quite a sweeping statement. He said Ukraine’s membership in NATO and the EU was out of the question as long as journalists are not adequately protected in this country. Today, the British minister emphasizes again that failure to investigate the murder of Heorhy Gongadze greatly tarnishes Ukraine’s image, especially in Britain, France, and the US.

Simultaneously, Dr. MacShane noted that Ukraine is a great European state. “Tony Blair wants Britain to be Ukraine’s No. 1 partner in the new Europe. My simple message is that Ukraine should look west and adopt the European road for the nation’s future,” he said, adding, “We also welcome the commitment of Ukraine to support the coalition to rebuild Iraq.”

Asked by The Day’s correspondent to comment on the projected single economic space of Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, Dr. MacShane said he was not prepared to do so because he had received the draft agreement just a few hours before. The minister added that British Ambassador Robert Brinkley and he would closely scrutinize the document and then make their views known. The visitor expressed hope that nothing had yet been finally decided, that this was just an intention, for any concrete steps in this direction could thwart Ukraine’s ambitions, including that of joining the World Trade Organization. At the same time, the British minister pointed out he was fully aware of the importance of ties with Russia. In his opinion, partnership with Russia and the European Union, with higher priority being attached to the West, would be the best choice for Kyiv.