EuroParliament Delegation for liaisons with Ukraine hold deliberations in Brussels to tackle economic situation in Ukraine   
  
http://www.kmu.gov.ua/control/publish/article?art_id=50148018

05.10.2006, 19:54, Ukrinform  
 
The EuroParliament Delegation for liaisons with Ukraine held deliberations in Brussels to address the economic situation in Ukraine and state the need for Ukraine's continued reforms and improvements in the nation's investment environments.

Dr Ediberto Segura, a spokesperson for the Sigma Bleyzer, informed the participants about major trends in Ukraine's economic development.

His report, which was sponsored by the Ukraine - EU Business Council, optimistically appraised the current economic situation in Ukraine.

According to Dr Segura, over the past four years Ukraine has demonstrated record-high economic growth rates, 8 percent per annum, on average.

He stated the Ukrainian financial market as stable, same as the UAH's exchange rate versus major foreign currencies.

The report also pointed to Ukraine's low external debt, which does not exceed 20 percent of the nation's GDP, and the Ukrainian population's growing solvent demand.

We are very optimistic in appraising further developments in Ukraine, we expect that the Ukrainian economy will continue developing very dynamically, Ediberto Segura went on.

He stated Ukraine's opportunities for ruining businesses as vast. As Dr Segura stressed, Ukraine's economic growth and economic stability will largely depend on the new Ukrainian Government's ability to carry on the reforms and radically improve Ukraine's business climate.

Ukrainian business executives, who attended the deliberations, focused on problems, which hamper Ukraine's economic advances.

According to Igor Belinskiy, chairman of the company Dnipropetrovsk Oil Extracting Factory, both Ukrainian and foreign businesses feel still unprotected in Ukraine.

He stated the need for the Ukrainian Parliament and the Government focusing on combating negative business phenomena, such as the widespread practice of raiding industrial facilities, with a view of seizing these.

In Igor Belinskiy's opinion, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine should cooperate with the European Parliament in drafting relevant protective legislation.

Bunge Europe company CEO Henri Rieux (the company is the Dnipropetrovsk Oil Extracting Factory's partner) said he believed in the Ukrainian agrarian sector's future.

Yet, we have to ascertain the Ukrainian authority's ability and willingness to solve all such problems.

No VR deputies attended the meeting. As EuroParliament Delegation Head Marek Siwiec noted, the European party has sent its proposals of holding joint meetings in 2006, but no reply has come.

As Marek Siwiec told Ukrinform's Brussels-based correspondent, EuroParliament deputies are closely watching developments in Ukraine, particularly economic developments.

The European Parliament believes that Ukraine's ability to carry on the reforms and to improve the nation's business environments will be the key to the nation's economic growth.

The only way to attain that goal lies through implementing the administrative, judicial, legal reforms, which will open the road to Ukraine's accedence to the WTO and furthering relations with the EU, Marek Siwiec noted.