GERMANY READY TO OVERSEE UKRAINIAN ECONOMY

Subscribe
BERLIN, March 18 (RIA Novosti, Taras Lariokhin) - Germany is ready to oversee Ukrainian economy should Kiev wish so, Helena Hoffmann, the chairwoman of the German-Ukrainian inter-factional parliamentary group, told RIA Novosti.

"Currently Germany is developing a great program for expanding cooperation - including economic cooperation - with Ukraine. Berlin intends to promote Kiev into the World Trade Organization, help Ukraine get the status of a market economy, and support the creation of a free trade zone in the country," Hoffmann said.

She also said all these issues had been on the table at the recent meeting between Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

"Of course Kiev is not ready to join the EU, and the terms [of accession] could hardly be on the agenda. Yushchenko's recently announced intention to begin accession talks with the EU as soon as in 2007 was without doubt premature," she said.

Primarily, she argued, Ukraine has to comply with "the European standards of a market economy."

"[Ukraine's] EU membership is still an option, but that requires an internal basis," she added.

In her view, the fact that Kiev is expanding its ties with the EU does not imply that it turns its back on Russia.

"This should not be an either-Russia-or-EU issue. These things are complementary, rather than antithetic."

According to Hoffmann, the current situation in Ukraine causes even more concern than that during the presidential campaign.

"New premier Yulia Timoshenko's intention to reverse privatization results causes concerns," the German lawmaker underscored.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала