News

The 10^th Yalta Annual Meeting entitled “Changing Ukraine in a Changing World: Factors of Success”, organized by the Yalta European Strategy (YES) in partnership with the Victor Pinchuk Foundation, will take place at the historic Livadia Palace in Yalta, Ukraine, from 19^th to 22^nd September, 2013.

On March 18-19, 2013 the Board of Yalta European Strategy (YES) visited Kyiv to discuss Ukraine's development and relations with its neighbors.

Ukraine should come to a decision for itself whether it is ready to move towards the European Union and share its underlying values. This idea was announced by the EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy (1999-2009), former NATO Secretary General Javier Solana.

Ukraine should work in a fully-fledged manner with partners both from Europe and from the Customs Union’s countries, however, the integration with CU is objectively more beneficial for Ukraine said Kairat Kelimbetov, the Vice Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, at the session “Ukraine, East, West?” in the framework of the 9th Annual Yalta Meeting of YES.

It is very important for Ukraine to define what interstate associations it supposes to integrate into. Otherwise, sooner or later it may find itself in international isolation. This idea was suggested at the session “Ukraine, East, West?” at the 9th Annual Yalta Meeting of YES by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden Carl Bildt.

Ukraine is committed to its European integration aspirations despite political problems standing in the country’s way to the EU. This statement was expressed the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Valeriy Khoroshkovsky during the session “UEW 2012 (Ukraine, East, West? Version 2012)” at the 9th Yalta Annual Meeting.

The energy sector should unite, but not divide the world. All decisions made in the energy sector should be holistic that is account for the entire set of consequences the decision implementation would entail said Matthias Bichsel, Executive Committee Member of SHELL speaking at the energy session at the 9th Annual Meeting of YES.

Europe should strive not to the world domination, but to the world collaboration.  This idea was voiced by Mani Shankar Aiyar, Member of the Upper House of the Parliament of India at the session on “The Future of Europe” at the 9th Annual Yalta Meeting of YES.

EU enlargement has played a unique and historic role. But currently this process is not at the top of the European agenda, unlike the issue of creating the European Monetary Union, stated Niall Ferguson, historian and Harvard professor, in the debate on the future of Europe at the 9th Yalta Annual Meeting of YES.