Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 250: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his relationship with Ukraine and his contacts with the Government; the position regarding the Ukraine's interest in joining the European Union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27940/05]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

A new chapter opened in bilateral relations between Ireland and Ukraine after the momentous democratic change which culminated in the inauguration of Viktor Yushchenko as President last January. I am pleased to say that contacts at political level have been stepped up very considerably. The Minister of State, Deputy Lenihan, represented Ireland at the inauguration of President Yushcenko. In April, the Minister of State, Deputy Treacy, had a meeting at Shannon with President Yushchenko and Foreign Minister Tarasiuk. In July, I had the pleasure of being the first Irish Foreign Minister to make an official visit to Ukraine. My visit included substantive discussion of bilateral relations, as well as EU-Ukraine relations and regional issues of mutual interest, with President Yushchenko, Parliamentary Speaker Lytvyn and Foreign Minister Tarasiuk. The Ceann Comhairle and six members of the Oireachtas visited Kiev last week at the invitation of the Speaker and had an equally full programme of meetings. I have accepted Foreign Minister Tarasiuk's proposal that he make a return official visit to Ireland later this month to sustain the momentum and move the developing relationship forward.

Ukraine faces huge challenges in consolidating democratic accountability and pushing forward with political and economic reform. To the extent possible, I want Ireland to encourage and support Ukraine politically and practically in this process. The European Union and many member states are similarly engaged. There is, for example, strong interest on the Ukrainian side in being able to learn from Ireland's experience of economic transformation. I was pleased to be able to announce in Kiev that Ireland is ready to assist Ukraine in the area of administrative capacity building, in the amount of one million euro over a three-year period.

The European Council decided last December that EU-Ukraine relations would be intensified through the European neighbourhood policy. The three year joint action plan signed on 22 February is the instrument through which the EU is supporting political and economic reform in Ukraine. The EU-Ukraine Summit in Kiev on 1 December will take stock of progress in implementation of the action plan. Under the Treaty on European Union, Ukraine as a European country is eligible to apply for membership of the EU provided it complies with the relevant criteria. I articulated this position when in Kiev in July. I signalled that if, in the future, Ukraine sought to exercise its right to apply for membership, Ireland would in principal be generally supportive. I noted at the same time that there was a mood among the people of the Union to hasten slowly as regards enlargement beyond those already in prospect. Fundamentally, it would be a matter for the people of Ukraine, their Parliament and leaders to ensure that the necessary reforms were put in place to meet the criteria for membership. The Union's absorption capacity would also be a significant factor, as is set out in the Copenhagen criteria.