Ukraine concerned about EU funding for eastern partnership

Ukraine’s deputy prime minister Hryhoriy Nemyria has welcomed the EU’s proposed eastern partnership, despite reservations he has about the amount of funding allocated under the scheme.

Speaking to theparliament.com on Monday, he said, “What is important is that for this policy to be effective it requires adequate funding.

“There is no mechanism to allow Ukraine in the eastern partnership in its current form to respond or use the mechanisms available to candidate countries to deal with the financial crisis.”

He suggests giving the European Central Bank a way to deal with economic downturns in the EU’s immediate neighbourhood, but is resigned to the fact that the EU’s “bureaucratic jungles” prevent it.

Ukraine also wants increased funding for institution building, for bringing its legislation into line with the EU’s, for regional cohesion and energy.

The European commission released the eastern partnership plans on 3 December after getting council approval for the idea at a June summit. The proposals cover the EU’s relationship with Ukraine, as well as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia and Moldova.

Ukraine, which is currently negotiating an upgrade on its current bilateral agreement with the EU, has usually taken the line that it will not entertain any proposal that doesn’t directly lead to membership.

But Nemyria, who is responsible for EU affairs, said that he would be using the instruments provided under the eastern partnership, especially if the plan proved useful in attracting outside support.

“What is important is that we go beyond rigidity of just EU funds. The ambition is for the EU funds to be a catalyst for attracting funds from international financial institutions…and could at least partly compensate for the clear gap between the amount of funds available and allocated in past for accession countries and what is impossible or possible for Ukraine, a country which does not still have this formalised prospect of membership,” he said.

A major sticking point between Ukraine and the 27-member bloc is the visa regime. The EU introduced a visa facilitation scheme for Ukrainian citizens in January, but it has been plagued by accusations of mismanagement.

Kyiv wants to see “tangible results” by the time the Euro 2012 football championship rolls around, and intends to push for a fee waiver as an interim step, which would cost the EU around €75m a year.

The eastern partnership will be formally launched at a summit of EU and Ukrainian leaders next spring.

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