How would you define Poland’s role as the country which was the first to recognise Ukraine’s independence in 1991 and since then has worked steadily to integrate Ukraine into Euro-Atlantic structures?

We are grateful to the Polish nation and Poland’s authorities for their consistent support, from the first moment of independent Ukraine, of the growth of democracy and our country’s efforts to become an integral part of united Europe.
The European choice of the Ukrainian nation is a grand challenge and also a great historical opportunity. The country’s European identity and its aspiration to become a member of the European Union are, today, Ukraine’s raison d’etat.
In a practical dimension integration into the EU has been the principal strategic priority for several years. Such is the stand taken by the President of Ukraine, its Government and Parliament. The essential fact is that more than 60 percent of my country’s citizens support Ukraine’s European integration, no matter where they live.
That is why the Ukrainian Government, the entire national administration and local government spare no effort to implement the European choice which our country has made. The major task is to introduce internal reforms, information campaigns as well making acquaintance with the experience of EU members.
In that context Poland’s experience in acceding to the EU is of unusual importance. We feel that Poland today is strongly committed to Ukraine’s issues in Europe, supporting EU “open doors” policy and also our right to a European future.

With the growth of EU contacts with Asian countries, what benefits will Ukraine get from a transportation corridor from West Europe through Poland to those countries?

Ukraine’s transit potential is just as valuable as gas and crude oil in other countries, a fact which both Europe and the East, including China, fully understand today. Beijing is ready to participate in modernising Ukraine’s railway junctions and container terminals to increase transportation traffic. That also explains the reason for the interest in using Black Sea ports to tranship cargo towards Europe. China is ready to invest in Ukrainian transportation projects which could be seen as truly important element in preparation for the Euro 2012 football championship. The China Bank of Development, China’s largest bank is studying the possibility of investing in the project to construct a highway between Lugansk and Chop. That West-East transportation corridor could well become a part of a transportation route from Europe to China. Thought is also being given to constructing a bridge over the Strait of Kerch with China’s participation
Ukraine’s geographical situation ensures its effective participation in any combination of trans Euro-Asiatic transportation routes.
Should goods be transported from China to Europe through Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine, delivery will be shortened to one or two weeks while the maritime route would take a month or even more.
Ukraine might participate in the TRASEKA project (Europe-Caucasus-Asia transportation corridor) - to connect the Pacific Ocean coast with European countries. This corridor should include the Georgian Black Sea ports of Poti and Batumi, Georgia and Azerbaijan railways, the ferry system of the Caspian Sea (Baku-Turmenbashi), the railway systems of Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrghyzstan, Uzbekistan and China with a further exit to the Pacific Ocean. EU 1993-2004 investments in TRASEKA amounted to around USD 110 bln.
Ukraine and Georgia are important transport partners, agreement being reached on creating a transportation corridor Baku-Tbilisi-Poti-Kyiv. During the summit meeting in Kraków between 11 and 13 May 2007 the Presidents of Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Turkey and Azerbaijan confirmed their intention to construct a Baku-Tbilisi-Poti railway line concluding over a ferry crossing to Kerch. Ukraine has also initiated a ferry line between Poti and Ilichivsk as well as a crossing to Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.

The Warsaw Stock Exchange has opened an office in Kyiv. Does that mean an energetic entrance of Ukrainian companies to the Warsaw Exchange may be expected?
The Warsaw Stock Exchange has made its debut in Ukraine which surely is real proof of Polish capital’s strategic interest in entering our country. The fact that the Warsaw Exchange is present in Ukraine testifies to the excellent economic climate, grand growth prospects of the capital market and that Polish investors wish to purchase Ukrainian company assets.
Warsaw Stock Exchange’s entrance to Ukraine will lead to intensification of cooperation with Ukrainian partners as well as state-run institutions. I am sure there will also be a positive echo in the number of Ukrainian investments in Poland, the more so that the Warsaw Exchange is a powerful institution in its field.
Bilateral investment cooperation is growing admirably, with Poland investing USD 702.6 mln in the Ukrainian economy according to data of 01.04.08. Ukrainian industrial groups have also been making substantial investments, to mention but Częstochowa Steel Mill, Gdańsk shipyard and FSO car factory. Several further investment projects are on the way.
Having said that, the Warsaw Stock Exchange’s appearance on the Ukrainian market is expected to become a catalyst for economic cooperation.
I must remark, however, that bilateral economic cooperation has a great potential. Our countries’ economic growth, the commitment of Ukrainian and Polish investors to extend cooperation – all create excellent conditions to lead bilateral trade and economic cooperation to new greater heights.

The conditions under which Polish investments in Ukraine are protected
have received negative Polish press comments recently. Is the Ukrainian government taking any steps to remedy the situation?
Ensuring of an investment-friendly climate in Ukraine is an issue of strategic importance since it determines the rate of our country’s social and economic growth and the possibility of modernising the economy. Statistics prove how effective the Government’s activities are in this direction. For instance, Polish investments in Ukraine in 2001 amounted to just over USD 89 mln, to reach USD 670 mln late last year. In 2007 alone, the increase of direct foreign investments doubled over the past 10 years. Capital market investments are growing in real estate and also in such branches as construction, industry, the banking sector and also in processing.
In a word growth is increasing annually and can be expected not to remain stable but rather to accelerate.
Efforts to improve the investment climate have continued since Ukraine regained its national independence. The legal foundations for investing have been demarcated at the present day, though we are aware that that the competitiveness of Ukraine’s national economy will grow only if the whole structure is amended and if investment policy is subordinated to strategic issues of national economic policy. Our most important immediate task is to draft imperative legal and organisational foundations corresponding to European demands. That is why appropriate economic reforms must continue, so as to ensure invariability of guarantees of security of market rights and liberties.

At what stage are the preparations for the Euro-2012 football championships. Are we going to lose what that opportunity offers?
In my opinion Euro-2012 preparations have been gaining momentum in the past few months. UEFA President Michel Platini’s visit in early July provided a notable impulse for these preparations.
Platini’s visit was immediately followed by a working meeting in Poland of Ukrainian Prime Minister J. Tymoshenko and the first joint session of the Ukrainian-Polish Committee for Preparing and Performing of Euro-2012 during which further steps to be taken by the two countries in preparing for the Championships were discussed.
But we must speed up our preparations to display at the UEFA Congress on 24 and 26 September that Ukraine and Poland are effectively overcoming all barriers towards meeting UEFA requirements.
As regards specific achievements by Ukraine I would like to mention the two new modern stadiums in Dnepropetrovsk and Donetsk to be commissioned by the end of the year. In my opinion that will be very important since they will be the first stadiums constructed in Ukraine and in Poland where Euro-2012 football matches will be played.
I am sure that the two countries will be ready in good time to host the European Football Championships in 2012.
In addition I may add that due to the combined efforts of our two countries the