Support for Russian language as official for all the state (in regions, according to survey in 2005 by the National Institute of Strategic Research)

Religions on Ukraine

Estimates compiled by the independent Razumkov centre in a nationwide survey in 2003 found that 75.2 percent of the respondents believe in God and 21.9 percent said they did not believe in God. 37.4 percent said that they attended church on regular basis. More than 90 percent of religiously active citizens were Christians, the majority Orthodox. Religious practice was generally stronger in the western part of the country. The survey indicates

• 50.44 percent - with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church with Kiev Patriarchate;• only 26.13 percent believers identify themselves as adherents of Ukrainian

Orthodox Church with Moscow Patriarchate, which has the largest number of Churches in Ukraine;

• 8.02 percent belong to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (Uniate with Roman Catholic Church;

• 7.21 percent to the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church;• 2.19 percent belonged to the Roman Catholic Church;• 2.19 percent identified themselves as Protestants (Pentecostal, Baptist,

Lutheran, Mennonites, Adventists);• 0.63 percent belong to Jewish religious practices;• 3.2 percent said they belonged to "other denominations".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Ukraine

1. THE OBJECTIVES OF EU/EC COOPERATION WITH UKRAINE

1.1. Overall external policy goals of the EU

The EU promotes its values and interests by operating as a global economic and political player, using various instruments, ranging from the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), assistance and trade to the external dimension of the EU’s internal policies. In particular, the EU strives to promote prosperity, solidarity, security and sustainable development worldwide. It is of utmost importance to the EU to define the right “policy mix”. That means that, in the light of the EU’s strategic external relations objectives, policy coherence needs to be ensured between all available instruments in dealing with Ukraine.

http://ec.europa.eu/world/enp/pdf/country/enpi_csp_ukraine_en.pdf

European Neighbourhood & Partnership, Instrument,Ukraine Country Strategy Paper 2007-2013, 2 March 2007

1.2. Strategic objectives of EU/EC cooperation with Ukraine

Country-specific, regional and global strategic objectives together shape the EU/EC approach to cooperation with Ukraine:

A mutually beneficial partnership promoting Ukraine’s transitionIn the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) of 1 April 1998 the EU and Ukraine committed themselves to establishing a partnership which provides for close political and mutually beneficial trade and investment relations together with economic, social, financial, civil scientific, technological and cultural cooperation. The partnership is intended, in particular, to promote Ukraine’s transition to afully fledged democracy and market economy.

Implementing the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and the EU-Ukraine Action PlanThe objective of the ENP, launched in the context of the 2004 enlargement round, is to share the EU’s stability, security and prosperity with neighbouring countries, including Ukraine, in a way that is distinct from EU membership. The ENP is designed to prevent the emergence of new dividing lines in Europe by offering neighbouring countries closer political, security, economic and cultural cooperation. It also addresses one of the European Union’s strategic objectives set in the European Security Strategy of December 2003, namely to bolster security in the EU neighbourhood. ENP partners expect to gain closer cooperation with the EU, the chance to participate in EU programmes and a stake in the EU’s internal market, lending strong support to their own political and economic reforms. In the case of Ukraine, specific objectives have been established in the EU-Ukraine Action Plan which was jointly endorsed in February 2005. The Commission put forward a mid-term assessment of the implementation of the Action Plan in November 2006.

Security challengesIn the European Security Strategy of 12 December 2003 the EU acknowledged that, as a Union of 25 states with over 450 million people producing a quarter of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP), it is inevitably a global player.One of the key policy implications of the European Security Strategy is the need for the EU to “promote a ring of well governed countries to the East of the European Union and on the borders of the Mediterranean with whom we can enjoy close and cooperative relations”. In addition to this, the Strategy clearly acknowledges the importance of promoting an international order based on effective multilateralism.The European Union and Ukraine adopted an EU Justice and Home Affairs Action Plan (EU JHA AP) in December 2001 which addresses security challenges in a comprehensive way and has been integrated into the Action Plan.Development policy objectivesThe EU’s development policy is driven by the overriding objective of poverty reduction with the complementary aims of promoting good governance and respect for human rights.3 At the same time it emphasises the need for a differentiated approach depending on contexts and needs. Ukraine used to be classified as a transition country in the OECD Development Assistance Committee’s (DAC) list of aid recipients. With a GNI per capita of US$ 1 260 (2004, Atlas method) and falling into the category of lower-middle income countries it has recently (December 2005) been included in the new single list of Official Development Assistance (ODA) recipients.

CONTENTS:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................... 21. THE OBJECTIVES OF EU/EC COOPERATION WITH UKRAINE.................................. 21.1. OVERALL EXTERNAL POLICY GOALS OF THE EU............................................ 21.2. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES OF EU/EC COOPERATION WITH UKRAINE........ 32.1. GENERAL ASPECTS ......................................................................................................42.2. INTERNAL POLICY ....................................................................................................... 42.3. EXTERNAL POLICY ...................................................................................................... 53. THE POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL SITUATION ........................................... 63.1 ANALYSIS OF THE POLITICAL SITUATION .......................................................... 63.2 ANALYSIS OF THE ECONOMIC SITUATION AND TRADE STRUCTURE ........ 73.3 ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTS................................................................. 84. AN OVERVIEW OF PAST AND ONGOING EC ASSISTANCE....................................... 94.1. EC ASSISTANCE TO UKRAINE 1991-2006................................................................. 94.2. KEY LESSONS LEARNT FOR THE NEW PROGRAMMING CYCLE ................ 114.3. COMPLEMENTARITY AND COORDINATION WITH OTHER DONORS......... 124.4. CONSISTENCY OF EC COOPERATION POLICY WITH OTHERCORE POLICIES OF THE EU (“POLICY MIX”) ............................................................ 135. THE EC RESPONSE STRATEGY....................................................................................... 135.1. PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVE ............................................................................................. 135.3. INSTRUMENTS AND MEANS ..................................................................................... 16

http://ec.europa.eu/world/enp/pdf/country/enpi_csp_ukraine_en.pdf

http://ec.europa.eu/budget/img/budget_detail/2008_figures_EN.jpg

Key EU assistance activities over the period 2007-2010 will include:Support for the implementation of the EU-Ukraine Memorandum of Understanding on Energy to promote the progressive integration of the Ukrainian energy market with that of the EU, the development of gas and oil infrastructure and progress on energy efficiency, and the use of renewable energy resources.Support to strengthen Ukraine’s capacities in the areas of border and migration management against the background of the forthcoming entry into force of a Visa Facilitation and Readmission Agreement between the EU and Ukraine.Support to strengthen the independence and effectiveness of the judiciary and to ensure the impartiality and independence of prosecution.Support to address environmental challenges, notably in the areas of climate change and improved water quality.In addition to this assistance, Ukraine will be eligible to draw on the proposed Neighbourhood Investment Fund. This Fund will be used to leverage additional lending from financial institutions including the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). A Governance Facility is being created to provide additional support on top of normal country allocations to acknowledge and support the work of ENP partner countries that have made most progress in implementing their Action Plans.

EU Assistance to Ukraine

The EU is the largest donor to Ukraine and has since 1991 provided assistance worth well over 2 billion €, mainly under its Tacis programme. During the last programming period 2004-2006 planned EU assistance amounted to 212 million €. The yearly average was 70.7 million € per year in 2004-2006 and is 123.5 million € per year in 2007-10. EU assistance over the last programming period focused on three priority areas:

i) Support for institutional, legal and administrative reform, ii) support for private sector and economic development andiii) support in addressing the social consequences of transition. EU

assistance is also provided to strengthen nuclear safety and for the destruction of anti-personnel landmines.

EU increases financial assistance to Ukraine, 9/3/2007 http://www.europaworld.org/week298/euincreases9307.html

TACIS UKRAINE ACTION PROGRAMME 2003

The Country Strategy Paper 2002-2006 and the National Indicative Programme 2003 for Ukraine were approved by the Tacis Committee of 2001. This Action Programme 2003 is developed fully in line with these strategic documents. The proposed activities are focused on three areas of co-operation: (i) support to institutional, legal and administrative reform;(ii) support to the private sector and economic development and (iii) support in addressing the social consequences of transition.Support in the area of institutional, legal and administrative reform will focus on seven issues: border management and migration control; development of PCA-compatible legislation and WTO accession; reform of the justice system; development of media; civil society development. Activities in the area of support to the private sector and assistance for economic development will focus on three priorities: support for tax reform; the development of a policy environment and administrative culture of SME growth in targeted priority development regions, including co-operation with IFC; and rural development through support for development of insurance market in the agriculture sector. To address the social consequences of transition, support will cover three areas: the development of multi-sectoral approaches towards disease prevention; strengthening regional social services; and vocational training and labour market. In addition, support will be provided through the following small project programmes: the Institution-Building Partnership Programme (through both components: the Key Public Institutions and the Civil Society and other Local Initiatives), Managers’ Training Programme (MTP), Bistro and Tempus.

http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/where/neighbourhood/regional-cooperation/enpi-east/documents/annual_programmes/ukraine_2003_en.pdf

Missing link between giant sources (in bcm /billion cubic metres) and potential markets

Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya: The "Great Game" Enters the Mediterranean: Gas, Oil, War and Geo-

Politics, http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=6862

Contours of the Nabucco Project

© Jan Horst Keppler, European Parliament (Committee on Foreign Affairs), 2007

„Slovakia is of the opinion that the stepping up of expert contacts and increased coordination between the EU member states in the energy field, within the existing EU structures, is needed.” (Contribution of Slovakia to the discussion on the EU external energy policy priorities /General Affairs and External Relations Council, 22 Jan. 2007 - www.rokovania.sk/appl/material.nsf/0/BF7A860732DF6128C12572720038DC7A/$FILE/vlastnymat.rtf

SK togather with the other „countries of the Visegrad Group (V4), expressing their appreciation for the European Commission’s Communication on Strengthening the European Neighbourhood Policy. The V4 consider the possibilities of a more effective use of the instruments of regional co-operation to provide our Eastern ENP neighbours stronger support in the implementation of their reforms and bringing them closer to the EU. Fostering peace, stability and economic prosperity of V4 East European neighbours is a real challenge. The V4 countries are convinced that there is no better way of achieving this goal than by maintaining political and economic reforms of the countries concerned, stabilisation of the region, minimisation of security threats, and overall modernisation. These objectives may be achieved by means of strengthened political dialogue, engagement into sectoral programmes, encouraging mutual contacts between people, deepening trade relations (aiming at comprehensive Free Trade Agreements), intensified partnership in the energy sector, facilitating mobility and managing migration and by closer co-operation on foreign and security policy, in particular on the issues of regional stability.“ (Joint Political Statement of the Visegrád Group on the Strengthening of the European Neighbourhood Policy -http://www.visegradgroup.eu/main.php?folderID=859&articleID=6743&ctag=articlelist&iid=1

- Borsányi András: A visszacsapás doktrínája – Amerika és a világ lehetséges jövője, Bona-L, Bp. 2002 /The Doctrine of the Counterstrike - The Possible Future of America and the World - CIA The World Factbook - Ukraine https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/up.html#Econ - Corruption Assessment: Ukraine - http://ukraine.usaid.gov/lib/evaluations/AntiCorruption.pdf - Business Anticorruption Portal Ukraine country profil / MSI/USAID survey in 2006 -http://www.business-anti-corruption.com/normal.asp?pageid=250 - European Comission - European Neighbourhood Policy http://ec.europa.eu/world/enp/index_en.htm - ENP in relation to Ukraine http://ec.europa.eu/world/enp/partners/enp_ukraine_en.htm - EU/Ukrain Action Plan http://ec.europa.eu/world/enp/pdf/action_plans/ukraine_enp_ap_final_en.pdf - European Neighbourhood & Partnership - Instrument - Ukraine Country Strategy Paper 2007-2013, 2. March 2007 http://ec.europa.eu/world/enp/pdf/country/enpi_csp_ukraine_en.pdf - EU budget http://ec.europa.eu/budget/index_en.htm - Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting: Monthly Economic Monitor Ukraine, 2008 http://www.ier.kiev.ua/English/MEMU/2008/memu2008_eng.cgi - Nazemroaya, Mahdi Darius: The "Great Game" Enters the Mediterranean: Gas, Oil, War and Geo-Politics, http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=6862 - UNDP Human Development Reports - Ukraine http://hdrstats.undp.org/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_UKR.html - Shanghina, Ludmila: The demographic situation in Ukraine: present state, tendencies & predictions – Alexander Razumkov Ukrainian Centre for Economic and Political Studies http://www.uceps.org/eng/show/641/

Thank you for attention