EVENT

Yushchenko urges Barroso to sign agreement

President Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine hopes to sign a document on Dec. 4, 2009, which will be based on the results of the Ukraine-EU summit and offer an analysis of the progress made in the negotiations on the Association Agreement. He told Ukrainian journalists about this on October 15 in Brussels, following a meeting with the European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

The Ukrainian president noted that at the moment the question of sector cooperation remains the most complicated matter in the Association Agreement negotiations. This cooperation depends, among other things, on the implementation of necessary reforms by the Ukrainian government. At the same time, the president said, the sides have reached consensus on nearly three-fourths of the future agreement.

Yushchenko also said he gave Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Petro Poroshenko a month and a half to “reach the final version of the document” to be signed following the next summit Ukraine-EU and also step up the free trade zone negotiation process. He said the inclusion of the clause on Ukraine’s EU membership prospects in the Association Agreement remains Ukraine’s unchanging position. The president also emphasized that there is a need for full implementation of the Agreement on Visa Regime Simplification, which came into force on Jan. 1, 2008, and for further liberalization of the visa regime for Ukraine’s citizens.

Vinnytsia tests energy saving pilot project

VINNYTSIA — The Ukrainian office of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) have chosen Vinnytsia to test an energy saving project designed for implementation in enire Ukraine. To this end the Swiss side has already realized two projects in Vinnytsia — Zurich Trams for Vinnytsia and Police Strategy to Curb Juvenile Crime in Ukraine.

“We have been cooperating with the Swiss for several years, and we have seen that they are extremely safe partners, therefore we proposed running an energy saving pilot project that would be centered in Vinnytsia and could later spread to other Ukrainian cities. On our part, we are able to provide a high-class implementation of the project,” said Vinnytsia mayor Volodymyr Hroisman.

Manuel Etter, head of the SDC office in Ukraine, also lavished praise on cooperation with this city. “Vinnytsia is our best partner. And I confirm that we intend to further cooperate with it. The SDC office in Ukraine has already started planning projects for the next year, specifically those on energy saving.”

At the same time, the Swiss took interest in Vinnytsia’s experience in providing administrative services, namely the work of the Transparent Office Center. The SDC office in Ukraine believes it is worthwhile to spread this experience to all Ukrainian cities, all the more so that in the end of the year the city council will implement international standards on information protection and an anti-corruption system. Vinnytsia will also carry out the Safe City Program jointly with the Israeli NICE Company, which is among the world leaders in this area.