Kyiv, 25 June 2014 – “This is a rather complex and comprehensive agreement, which is why its implementation requires strong state as an economic tool. I would like to wish Ukraine two things. The first is to finalize the Association Agreement on June 27, which is a minimum requirement. The second – and that would be the maximum requirement – is as follows: if we want to make economic reforms, including implementation of the Association Agreement, we need to reform our government staff in a quick and very austere manner. It is impossible to take any major steps and achieve the results expected by the society given the current condition of our government machine,” said Igor Burakovsky, Chairman of the Board of the Institute for Economic Research and Political Consulting, Doctor of Economic Sciences, commenting on the signing of the EU Association Agreement at a press briefing at the Ukraine Crisis Media Center.
According to Mr. Burakovsky, after signing of the economic chapters of the Association Agreement, liberalization of trade between Ukraine and the EU will begin in autumn 2014 and will develop asymmetrically. On the European market side, all processes will be happening quite fast, while on the Ukrainian side lifting restrictions for some categories of goods will take up to 10 years. “The European Union will lift restrictions on Ukrainian goods and services quite fast, while protection of the Ukrainian market against certain types of European goods will be extended for a period of three to ten years. At the same time, Ukrainian legislation needs to be harmonized with that of the EU. Verkhovna Rada must implement in the Ukrainian legislation about 350 EU legal acts of various types. Approximately 80 legal acts will be related to the environment,” noted Igor Burakovsky.
Signing of the EU Association Agreement will open financing lines and access to resources, but a lot will depend on whether or not Ukrainian businesses will manage to make use of all this. Igor Burakovsky mentioned public procurement as a promising sector for the Ukrainian business. “Today, access to public procurement procedures in the European Union is very simple. Qualification is what matters. It is understandable that European companies are well-known and will have certain advantages over unknown companies from other countries. There is a European website which focuses on public procurement within the European Union. As regards public procurement at the level of countries, which is a two-tier process, practically all these procedures are based on the relevant EU regulations and are largely unified, although there are some exceptions in certain sectors,” added Mr. Burakovsky.
Chairman of the Board of the Institute for Economic Research and Political Consulting said that signing of the EU Association Agreement is a chance for Ukraine to modernize the country. Using this chance entirely depends on the Ukrainian society, government and business, and not on the EU.