Ukraine's destiny with the European Union - Yatsenyuk

The Ukrainian State needs to see well-defined guidelines and benchmarks that will eventually indicate the time when Ukraine becomes a legitimate EU member. 

Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, said so during a round-table session "Agenda 2020 and prospects for relations between Ukraine and EU" at the 4th annual meeting of Yalta European Strategy (YES).

"We need to see well-defined guidelines and benchmarks that will eventually indicate the time when Ukraine becomes a legitimate EU member", - he said. According to the Minister, Ukraine' accession to the European Union may not happen overnight. Yatsenyuk believes that it will take several years for Ukraine to make necessary steps towards accession to EU.

Minister believes that among key steps to be taken to give a good impetus to the Ukraine-EU relations are access to goods and services market, in particular, to agriculture, irons, steel, and IT market. Relaxation of visa restrictions for Ukrainians in the European Union is also a very important issue: "People need to have a right to join the European Union physically. They are the best ambassadors bringing Ukrainian values and culture to Europe", pointed out Yatsenyuk. 
The minister reminded that Ukraine became a UN member in 1945 right after the meetings held in Livadia Palace, and expressed his hope that sometime all of the YES participants convened in the Palace will be discussing specific issues related to the Country's accession to the European Union. "We need no neutrality. Our destiny is to be with the European Union", stressed Arseniy Yatsenyuk.

"Yalta European Strategy" (YES) is an independent organization, which brings together high-level policy-makers, business leaders, thinkers, researchers, and journalists in Ukraine and abroad to facilitate Ukraine's accession to EU. The annual YES summits in Yalta have become the leading informal high-level forum focused on discussing and development of political recommendations. In 2006, the YES experts developed an analytical document "Agenda-2020", representing a step-by-step strategy for Ukraine's accession to the European Union in 2020. YES organization was created by a Ukrainian businessman and public figure, Victor Pinchuk in 2004.