Euro Integration: Round Table Discussion at MIM-Kyiv

Prof. Iryna Tykhomyrova, MIM-Kyiv President started the event with her welcome speech. Mrs. Hermine Poppeller, Ambassador of Austria to Ukraine and Mr. Joslin Giton from the EU Delegation and joined her welcome. All opening words focused on the adaptation of the Ukrainian legislation to the EU Directives and integration of the country into EU markets.

Mr. Valeriy Pyatnytsky, one of the “fathers” of the EU – Ukraine Association Agreement and advisor to the Prime Minister of Ukraine said, “Overall situation with the Agreement is rather complicated. It took us several years to reach the Agreement, still implementation is another leap for our business and our legal framework. Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) is in fact the rule setter for us. Unless we follow them we will not entry the EU markets. Wherever the legislation has been adapted considerable successes are evident. The sooner we adapt to the new standards, the better we are off. We do not have time for anything but radical reforms.”

Mr. Larry Pixa from the US Embassy to Ukraine confirmed the US readiness to assist Ukraine in its adaptation efforts. Mr. Oleksandr Chalyi, the President of Grant Tornton LLC and well-known Ukrainian diplomat mentioned in his speech, “The Association Agreement is a very comprehensive document encompassing 32 standards. Its implementation requires all sorts of resources and is not beneficial in short-term perspective. Moreover, the situation will get more difficult for us as the competition will reinforce due to the openness of markets.”

Dr. Vitaliy Gayduk, the Chairman of MIM-Kyiv board and Mr. Oleksandr Kardakov, Chairman of the Board of Octava Capital described their experiences in adaptation of Ukrainian businesses to the EU standards and shared their judgments of latest developments in Ukrainian business environment.

The round table has become a platform for the dialogue between the EU organizations and officials and Ukrainian establishment and business community. Moreover, it is the first step in establishment of the working control of the reforms and EU integration of Ukraine.