"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT"
In-Depth Ukrainian News, Analysis, and Commentary
"The Art of Ukrainian History, Culture, Arts, Business, Religion,
Sports, Government, and Politics, in Ukraine and Around the World"
EUROPEAN UNION: ECONOMIC FAULT LINE IS FORMING
"An Eventful, Historical Weekend...Read All About It"
"Where Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus rub up against one
another, an economic fault line is forming. What the EU does now to bridge
this fault line will determine whether these countries Westernize or
stagnate. The dream of a Europe free and whole, from the Atlantic to the
Urals, is yet to be realized." [article one}
"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT" Year 04, Number 71
Action Ukraine Coalition (AUC), Washington, D.C.
morganw@patriot.net, ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net
Washington, D.C.; Kyiv, Ukraine, SAT-SUN, May 1-2, 2004
INDEX OF ARTICLES
"Major International News Headlines and Articles"
1. "WHAT'S THE EU'S POINT IN KEEPING UKRAINE AWAY?"
No legitimate reasons remain for depriving Ukraine of the
benefits available to member nations
By Yuliya Tymoshenko, former Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine
and a leader of the opposition in Parliament.
Taipei Times, Taipei, Taiwan, Friday, Apr 30, 2004
2. UKRAINE VOICES HOPE TO JOIN EUROPEAN FAMILY
Agence France-Presse, Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, 01 May 2004
3.EU WARNS UKRAINE: ALLIANCE WITH RUSSIA RISKS MEMBERSHIP
Associated Press (AP), Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, April 30, 2004
4. UKRAINIAN PRESS CAUTIOUS OVER EU ENLARGEMENT
BBC Monitoring Research, United Kingdom, Friday, 30 Apr 04
5."EU'S GROWING CLOUT PROMPTS RUSSIA TO SHIFT ITS PRIORITIES"
By Marc Champion, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
Wall Street Journal, NY, NY, Friday, April 30, 2004
6.UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT SIGNS EUROPEAN INTEGRATION DECREE
Ukrayinska Pravda web site, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 30 Apr 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Saturday, May 01, 2004
7. LITTLE CHEER ON EU'S EASTERN BORDER
BBC Monitoring Research Service, UK, Saturday, May 01, 2004
8. "DEBATE ON EU ENLARGEMENT IS ONLY JUST BEGINNING"
The EU now has 25 member-states, but the possible number exceeds 40
By Adrian Langan, Irish Times, Dublin, Ireland, Sat, May 01, 2004
9.POLISH PRESIDENT'S EU ACCESSION ADDRESS IN CENTRAL WARSAW
"We send greetings to our neighbours from Ukraine"
Polish Radio 1, Warsaw, Poland, in Polish, 30 Apr 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, May 01, 2004
EDITOR'S NOTE: Will a President of Ukraine ever make an
EU Accession Address, yes or no. If no, why? Is yes, when?
10."UKRAINE-SLOVAKIA BORDER TOWN LAMENTS NEW EU 'CURTAIN"
Shadow of old Iron Curtain grew darker for residents along
Ukraine-Slovakia border in the town of Szelmenc
By Megan McCloskey, The Washington Times, Wash, D.C., Sat, May 01, 2004
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THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 71 ARTICLE NUMBER ONE
Politics and Governance, Building a Strong, Democratic Ukraine
http://www.artukraine.com/buildukraine/index.htm
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1. "WHAT'S THE EU'S POINT IN KEEPING UKRAINE AWAY?"
As the EU picks up 10 new members from along its eastern border,
no legitimate reasons remain for depriving Ukraine of the
benefits available to member nations
By Yuliya Tymoshenko, former Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine
and a leader of the opposition in Parliament.
Taipei Times, Taipei, Taiwan, Friday, Apr 30, 2004, Page 9
Groucho Marx once famously quipped that he wouldn't join any club that would
have him as a member. But in today's EU, Groucho need not apply. The EU now
does not want to accept anybody who applies for membership, because the
countries queuing up to join are too big or too poor, or both.
Tomorrow the EU formally admits 10 new members, eight from central Europe.
All are far poorer than the EU average. Bulgaria, Romania and possibly
Croatia are supposed to join in 2007. By the end of this year, the EU is to
decide whether to open membership talks with Turkey -- a country that is not
only poor and big, but Muslim. If the EU is to talk about membership with
Turkey, is there any legitimate reason for keeping out my country --
Ukraine?
Current EU thinking, however, holds that Ukraine should be placed in the
same framework as countries in North Africa and the Middle East. The EU's
"Wider Europe" strategy does call for closer ties to Ukraine, and for
allowing us increased access to the EU's "single market." But it does not
view Ukraine as a candidate for EU membership, at least not in the
foreseeable future.
One reason for this is that the EU does not want to pick a fight with
Russia, which still sees us as its close ally, natural business partner and
as members of an enlarging Russian-led economic zone. Indeed, last week
Ukraine's parliament ratified a treaty creating "a single economic space"
with Russia. But this supposed free-trade zone seems more like a recipe to
enrich oligarchs and stifle competition, not promote trade.
Of course, Russia won't look on happily if the EU tries to lure Ukraine. But
membership in the EU does not mean estrangement from Russia. Besides,
excluding Ukraine from eventual EU membership will encourage Russia's
imperial ambitions. This will diminish Russia's chances of ever becoming a
full democracy, for it can rule an empire only as a militarized state.
It is the mark of a good club that people clamor to become members. An
ever-larger EU including Ukraine would create a political unit with a huge
population, furthering the EU's ambitions to be a global power.
As the latest round of enlargement proves, the EU is very effective at
molding the governance and behavior of would-be members. Preparations
for EU entry strongly motivated the eight former communist Central European
states to entrench or restore democratic institutions and market economies.
The further Europe exports its laws and values, the more it expands a zone
committed to peaceful, democratic and prosperous co-existence. A country
equipped to join the EU is a country equipped to make its way in the world
peacefully, if it chooses to do so. Europe needs such countries on its
borders.
So far, the EU's actions have achieved the opposite. For example, three
years ago Ukrainians crossed the border with Poland 6 million times. Most
were small traders buying goods for resale at home, boosting the economy of
eastern Poland, the poorest part of that country. Others worked cheaply in
Poland as cleaners and building workers.
As a step toward imposing EU border controls and visa rules, Poland began
demanding visas from its neighbors. Crossings at Polish border stations
quickly fell by over two-thirds. Thus the new EU border with Ukraine is
making its presence felt in the most negative way imaginable -- by hurting
business on both sides of the border.
In the EU, only Poland seems to want Ukraine as a prosperous, stable and
accessible neighbor, not as a poor and rickety one with a dodgy democracy
and even dodgier nuclear power stations. Poland worries that the more
Ukraine is shut off from the EU, the more it will fall behind, economically
and politically.
But today's other EU members view the prospect of an ever-expanding EU
that includes Ukraine with fatalism and dread, for several reasons. The
first, inevitably, is money. The EU redistributes billions of euros from
rich
to poor members.
A second is immigration. One of the EU's fundamental principles is that
there should be freedom to move from one member country to another. But
anti-immigration parties are gaining ground across western Europe; they
could make huge political capital out of potential Ukrainian membership.
There is also a feeling that a larger EU might simply be unable to function.
Creating plausible-sounding objections to Ukrainian membership is easy. We
are not really European, we are too poor, we are too different. But the EU
has consistently rejected the idea of insisting on a minimum income level
for members. Its only serious economic demand is that members have a
"functioning market economy."
Where Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus rub up against one
another, an economic fault line is forming. What the EU does now to bridge
this fault line will determine whether these countries Westernize or
stagnate.
The dream of a Europe free and whole, from the Atlantic to the Urals, is yet
to be realized. (END)
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http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/edit/archives/2004/04/30/2003138620
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THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 71: ARTICLE NUMBER TWO
Politics and Governance, Building a Strong, Democratic Ukraine
http://www.artukraine.com/buildukraine/index.htm
Become a financial sponsor of The Action Ukraine Program Fund
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2. UKRAINE VOICES HOPE TO JOIN EUROPEAN FAMILY
The Ukrainian parliament has meanwhile ratified an accord creating
a single economic zone with Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, which
would establish a free trade area and customs union that would dash
all hopes of Kiev joining the EU.
Agence France-Presse, Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, 01 May 2004
KIEV - Ukraine hailed the historic enlargement of the European Union on
Saturday and restated its desire one day to join the "family of European
nations".
"The EU enlargement opens up many possibilities for developing and
deepening our relations with the EU and our neighbors who now are members
and with whom we share a common history and very close economic, cultural
and human ties", the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Foreign Minister Kostantin Hrishchenko sent a letter of congratulations to
the 10 incoming EU members, which include Ukraine neighbors Hungary, Poland
and Slovakia. He expressed hopes to his counterparts that Kiev would "one
day join the family of European nations", according to Interfax news agency.
President Leonid Kuchma gave a more embittered view of EU expansion on
Thursday, saying it was shutting aspirant member Ukraine out in the cold.
"Ukraine is becoming a neighbor of the European Union and in spite of
everything, a dividing wall is appearing. It is not the Berlin wall but
still a fence," he told the European Economic summit in Warsaw.
Kiev wants Brussels to issue its formal view on the country's prospects for
EU membership and, fearing a negative economic impact as its trading
partners enter the bloc, also wants to be granted a special market economy
status like that accorded to Russia in 2002.
The country of 48 million people wants to start accession talks with
Brussels in 2011, but remains seriously hampered by persistent reports of
rights and media abuses, corruption and election fraud and violence.
The Ukrainian parliament has meanwhile ratified an accord creating a single
economic zone with Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, which would establish a
free trade area and customs union that would dash all hopes of Kiev joining
the EU. (END)
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THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 71: ARTICLE NUMBER THREE
Check Out the News Media for the Latest News >From and About Ukraine
Daily News Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/newsgallery.htm
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3.EU WARNS UKRAINE: ALLIANCE WITH RUSSIA RISKS MEMBERSHIP
Associated Press (AP), Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, April 30, 2004
KIEV (AP)--Ukraine's participation in an economic alliance with Russia and
two other former Soviet republics could jeopardize its plans to join the
European Union, an E.U. envoy said Friday.
Certain kinds of cooperation in the Single Economic Space, a grouping
approved by Ukraine's parliament last week, would contradict its efforts to
draw closer to Europe, said Steffen Skovmand, acting chief representative of
the E.U. executive commission in Kiev.
"Of course, it's up to Ukraine to choose with whom it wants to have free
trade," Skovmand said. "But if Ukraine were to enter a more binding
arrangement with the Single Economic Space, such as a customs union or
monetary and economic union, then there would be a problem."
Ukraine's president Leonid Kuchma and his government have repeatedly said
they want to join the E.U and North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Kuchma accused E.U. officials of frustrating Ukraine's desire to join.
Kuchma and Russian President Vladimir Putin met last week to celebrate the
creation of their four-nation economic group. Kuchma said Ukraine must work
closely with Russia.
U.S. officials said that depending on what form the Single Economic Space
takes and what more specific agreements are reached among it members,
participation could conflict with Ukraine 's efforts to integrate with the
West. (END)
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THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 71: ARTICLE NUMBER FOUR
Major Articles About What is Going on in Ukraine
Current Events Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/events/index.htm
Become a financial sponsor of The Action Ukraine Program Fund
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4. UKRAINIAN PRESS CAUTIOUS OVER EU ENLARGEMENT
BBC Monitoring Research, United Kingdom, Friday, 30 Apr 04
KIEV - Concern about economic fallout from European Union enlargement has
dominated Ukraine's press reactions to the entry of its neighbours into the
EU. The reactions range from regret at Ukraine being left out to fear of a
new Iron Curtain arising in Europe.
SIDELINED?
The opposition-leaning daily Ukrayina Moloda proclaims in a headline that
"While the EU expands, Ukraine is getting ever more distant from it". It
notes ruefully: "Our homeland has found itself on the sidelines of Europe,
or to be more exact, in some other kind of Europe, on the frontier of the EU
and that `other Europe' - an unpredictable and obscure one, one with a
dubious future." The paper adds that Euro-buffs are still hoping against
hope that one day Ukraine will join the EU.
Ukrayina Moloda pours scorn on Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma for
"taking offence" at Europe after it has failed to give a clear signal to
Ukraine about membership prospects. Kuchma has recently lambasted the
EU, comparing its relationship with Ukraine to "a bullfight, with the EU
acting as a toreador and Ukraine as a young bull running after a red cloth".
The analytical weekly Zerkalo Nedeli carries a front-page article by EU
foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who describes the entry of 10 new
countries as "an unprecedented historic event". Solana expects the expanded
EU to grow stronger and more prosperous. He notes that the EU's new
neighbourhood programme aimed at countries like Ukraine is meant to prevent
new division lines appearing on the continent.
In a separate commentary, Zerkalo Nedeli advises the EU not to "erect a high
wall" on the Ukrainian border, but to "help its neighbour become richer". It
describes the EU strategy with regard to countries like Ukraine as vague and
inarticulate: "Unless EU leaders change their general strategy as regards
neighbours and their tactics as regards the new member states, a group of
the `unhappy' may emerge inside the union - to be taken advantage of by some
external forces and, most likely, to hinder European unity."
Meanwhile, parliament's daily Holos Ukrayiny talks of "enlargement of the EU
which we no longer seek to enter". It quotes senior government officials as
saying that "the strategic aim of attaining EU membership has now been
revised" because "it has become obvious that, through no fault of ours, the
prospect of seeing that strategy fulfilled appears doubtful". Holos Ukrayiny
concludes that from now on "Ukraine will integrate with Europe without any
specific aim in mind", trying to make use of the experience of such non-EU
yet undoubtedly European countries as Switzerland, Norway or Iceland.
ECONOMIC PROS AND CONS
Other newspapers focus on the economic consequences of the enlargement.
"From 1 May Ukraine will be left without free-trade accords with the Baltic
countries. Import tariffs will be changed and dumping sanctions applied to
Ukrainian goods in line with EU requirements, which would lead to a
reduction in our exports," the Ukrainian weekly 2000 warns. Therefore, it
calls for deeper collaboration with Ukraine's post-Soviet neighbours, which
can become an economic "insurance" policy for Kiev in the face of losses
from the severance of trade links with new EU members.
The popular tabloid Segodnya also anticipates serious repercussions: "Among
the minuses is the fact that some export-oriented companies will lose
markets for their products, mainly in metallurgy, the chemical industry and
agriculture. The losses may amount to an average of 250m euros a year."
There is a silver lining, however, the paper notes: "Many production lines
now based in Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary will be moved to Ukraine
because of cheaper labour." "In addition, we can count on technical
assistance from the EU to equip our border and customs checkpoints. The
European Union needs a safe neighbour," Segodnya says.
THREAT OF EMPTY SHELVES
The western Ukrainian press seems more concerned about immediate
down-to-earth effects, such as the threat of empty shopping counters in
border regions following the entry of Poland into the EU.
The Lviv-based daily Vysokyy Zamok says "most Poles are convinced that
membership of the EU will give Poland fresh economic impetus". However,
there is pressure on Poland from the EU to raise the prices of many goods in
order to bring them into line with Europe-wide prices. Rumours doing the
rounds have brought some panic to ordinary Poles who are buying up tobacco,
alcohol, sugar and other goods. The paper wonders: "Will we enjoy a trade
boom, which we saw at the beginning of the 1990s, when tourist 'shuttle
traders' of a friendly country literally emptied not only televisions,
lamps, cloth, instruments, nails and underwear from our shelves?"
It adds that some Poles are already crossing the border a few times a day to
buy cheaper petrol and warns Ukrainians could decide to take goods for sale
in Poland. The paper concludes by saying: "Who can assure us that in May
there will not be the same demand [as for petrol] for relatively cheap
Ukrainian vodka, cigarettes and daily necessities? Once Poles increase
demand for these goods I believe that poor Ukrainians will empty our shelves
themselves and head towards Poland with their 'suitcases' to cash in on the
difference in prices."
WESTERN UKRAINE PERSPECTIVE
In another issue, Vysokyy Zamok notes the economic and political gap that
has developed between Ukraine and Poland in the last decade, though the
countries began from almost identical positions. "This is why Ukrainian
society has failed to develop as a civil society, an open market economy has
not appeared, while Ukraine's path to NATO, which could have been a
guarantor of national sovereignty, is closed for many years to come. Access
to the European Union, which one in every second resident of Ukraine wants
to get a visa for and to flee to, has been closed off completely."
He adds: "Fifteen years ago the level of prosperity or, to be more precise,
poverty in both Poland and Ukraine was identical, but now the gap is
obvious." He warns that the gap "will get wider" unless Ukraine changes its
attitude to expansion: "It is important for Ukraine and Poland to show that
Poland entering the EU will not turn out to be mutual isolation and that
negative challenges from EU enlargement will at least be compensated by
mutual honesty. Ukraine should welcome the process of EU enlargement as a
positive one and one which is beneficial for its future. But that is if it
takes advantage of this chance."
The pro-opposition Lvivska Hazeta is quite sceptical of Ukraine's EU
prospects. It says it took Poland 15 years to be accepted into the EU. It
also plans to take in Bulgaria and Romania in 2007, and Croatia is involved
in serious talks on eventual membership. However, the paper says grimly that
membership for Ukraine is not even on the political agenda: "Ukraine joining
the EU, despite all the optimistic statements by Ukrainian officials, is not
an issue at the present time. Not even in the distant future." (END)
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THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 71: ARTICLE NUMBER FIVE
Exciting Opportunities in Ukraine: Travel and Tourism Gallery
http://www.ArtUkraine.com/tourgallery.htm
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5. "EU'S GROWING CLOUT PROMPTS RUSSIA TO SHIFT ITS PRIORITIES"
By Marc Champion, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
Wall Street Journal, NY, NY, Friday, April 30, 2004
WARSAW -- It used to be that Russian leaders worried mainly about their
neighbors joining NATO, the Western military alliance. Nowadays, they've
realized the European Union can have a bigger impact on Russian interests,
according to President Vladimir Putin's new -- and first -- special adviser
on the EU.
Appointed just a month ago, Sergei Yastrzhembsky said that Russia's
approach to the EU had undergone a sea change over the past couple of
years, as the EU prepared to enlarge to include 10 new countries, seven of
them former Soviet-bloc countries.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization "enlargement is more an influence on the
emotional level, although, of course, it does have policy implications,"
Mr. Yastrzhembsky said in an interview at the World Economic Forum's
meeting to mark the EU's enlargement. "But EU enlargement for sure impacts
our interests."
Failure to recognize the EU's clout over its own members had led to Russia
failing to pay enough attention to the EU's institutions in Brussels. That
became clear as Russia negotiated with the EU ahead of enlargement -- in
talks that ranged from trade terms to a more lenient visa regime for
Russians trying to visit the EU. Mr. Yastrzhembsky recalls that Russian
negotiators went to the big EU countries to try to negotiate visa regimes
bilaterally, only to find they couldn't deliver, because they were
restricted by EU rules.
"We used to resolve issues at a bilateral level -- developing chemistry
between the leaders was very important, for example," he said. "But we
neglected the [equally important] institutions in Brussels."
Similarly, when Russia wanted to negotiate a list of 14 points, for
example, ensuring that EU quotas for Russian steel and aluminum were
expanded to account for the markets being added to the EU such as Hungary
and Poland, it had to deal with the EU as a whole.
Heather Grabbe, deputy director of the Center for European Reform in
London, said the change of approach was a good sign, but also cautioned
that Moscow would continue to "divide and rule" when necessary.
"If they can't get what they want from Brussels, then they'll just go to
France, or Germany or Italy who will offer them whatever they want," she
said. "Only, they won't always be able to deliver."
But enlargement has also helped to focus minds in the Kremlin on the scale
of Russia's economic relationship with the EU. After enlargement, Mr.
Yastrzhembsky said, the EU will account for 53% of Russia's foreign trade
and a third of foreign direct investment into Russia. On both counts, that
is more than Russia's involvement with the U.S.
Russia's growing economic ties with the EU have also contributed to a
broader rebalancing of priorities between the EU and Washington, Mr.
Yastrzhembsky said. Whereas Washington used to be Moscow's dominant
foreign-policy priority, the EU was now just as important, though in
different fields. Whereas security issues such as the war on terrorism
dominated Russia's relationship with the U.S., he said, with the EU,
economic issues dominated. (END)
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THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 71: ARTICLE NUMBER SIX
The Story of Ukraine's Long and Rich Culture
Ukrainian Culture Gallery: http://www.ArtUkraine.com/cultgallery.htm
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6. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT SIGNS EUROPEAN INTEGRATION DECREE
Ukrayinska Pravda web site, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian 30 Apr 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Saturday, May 01, 2004
KIEV - Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma has signed the decree "On the
strategy for Ukraine's economic and social development `On the path of
European integration' for 2004-15", the Ukrainian presidential press service
has reported.
The press service said: "The document was issued in order to fulfill
strategic priorities in Ukraine's economic and social development, such as
securing steady economic growth, reinforcing the innovation-based
development model and social reorientation of economic policy, and creating
preconditions for Ukraine's membership in the European Union."
The decree endorsed the strategy for Ukraine's economic and social
development "On the path of European integration" for 2004-15.
The head of state instructed the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, central
and local executive power bodies to take account of the strategy's
provisions when drafting national, regional or departmental programmes of
economic and social development.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science was tasked with making sure
the main provisions of the strategy were taken into account in conducting
scientific research and academic studies at higher-education institutions.
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THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 71: ARTICLE NUMBER SEVEN
The Genocidal Famine in Ukraine 1932-1933, HOLODOMOR
Genocide Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/famineart/index.htm
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7. LITTLE CHEER ON EU'S EASTERN BORDER
BBC Monitoring Research Service, UK, Saturday May 01, 2004
While many Eastern Europeans celebrate their countries' accession to the EU,
the mood beyond the union's new eastern border is more subdued. In Belarus,
Ukraine and Russia there is a mixture of disquiet about the impact of the
expanded EU and disappointment at missing out on the benefits of membership.
In the Belarusian capital Minsk, riot police on Saturday tried to prevent an
opposition demonstration in favour of EU enlargement, confiscating EU flags
and arresting protesters. The country's president, Aleksandr Lukashenko, has
had less than cordial relations with Brussels, which has frequently
criticized his human rights record.
BANANAS
In Russia, reaction to EU expansion reflects both concern over its new
powerful neighbour and a desire to remain aloof. The daily Nezavisimaya
Gazeta believes staying out of the European Union may be the best thing for
Russia, which it thinks has chances of becoming a new "European tiger"
itself.
The paper adds that an improving economy could give Russia bargaining
strength in relation to the EU, but warns that it should avoid frightening
"old lady Europe" again in future. It also urges Moscow to put pressure on
the EU to prevent what it calls "discrimination" against the
Russian-speaking minority in Latvia.
Many of the country's ethnic Russians do not have Latvian citizenship, and
there have been complaints that the EU has done too little to encourage its
new member to improve the minority's position.
In Latvia itself, Russian speakers on Saturday staged a protest against
plans to end the teaching of Russian in schools across the street from a
ceremony in Riga to mark the country's accession to the EU. Between 20,000
and 30,000 protesters carried EU flags tied with black ribbons as a sign of
mourning, according to agency reports.
Moscow's Vremya Novostei is dismissive of the benefits of EU membership,
wondering whether the new members really know what they have let themselves
in for. "There is a strange European standard concerning the 'curvature' of
bananas permitted for sale in the EU," it says, adding helpfully: "This is
not a joke."
Another Russian paper, Rossiyskaya Gazeta points out that Russia's
"long-suffering" enclave of Kaliningrad is now cut off from the mother
country by the European Union. "Hurrah, Russia will finally have a border
with Europe! But what sort of hurrah is it if it wasn't us that came to
Europe, but Europe that came to us," it says.
LEFT OUT?
In neighbouring Ukraine, the mood is different, with many papers feeling
left out of the European party. "Our homeland has found itself on the
sidelines of Europe, or to be more exact, in some other kind of Europe - an
unpredictable and obscure one, one with a dubious future," the opposition
daily Ukrayina Moloda notes ruefully.
The Ukrainian parliament's newspaper, Holos Ukrayiny, talks of an
"enlargement of the EU which we no longer seek to enter", and says the
government appears to have dropped ambitions to join the union. "It has
become obvious that, through no fault of ours, the prospect of seeing that
strategy fulfilled appears doubtful," it says.
Fears of the economic repercussions of EU enlargement also exercise some
papers, with tabloid Segodnya worried that Ukraine's vital industrial sector
will lose access to previously open markets. "Losses may amount to an
average of 250m euros a year," it says.
Zerkalo Nedeli urges the EU not to "erect a high wall" on the Ukrainian
border, but "help its neighbour become richer" instead.
In Lviv, close to the Polish border, the daily Vysokyy Zamok bemoans the
fact that Ukraine has lagged behind its western neighbour, which has now
become an EU member. "Fifteen years ago the level of prosperity or, to be
more precise, poverty in both Poland and Ukraine was identical, but now the
gap is obvious," it says, and warns that the gap will widen unless Ukraine
tries to benefit from EU expansion.
"Ukraine should welcome the process of EU enlargement as a positive one and
one which is beneficial for its future." (END)
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THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 71: ARTICLE NUMBER EIGHT
Ukraine's History and the Long Struggle for Independence
Historical Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/histgallery.htm
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8. "DEBATE ON EU ENLARGEMENT IS ONLY JUST BEGINNING"
The EU now has 25 member-states, but the possible number
exceeds 40, writes Adrian Langan
COMMENTARY By Adrian Langan,
Irish Times, Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, May 01, 2004
DUBLIN - Any illusion that today's festivities will end all this talk about
'enlargement' is precisely that, an illusion.
The EU is open to membership to any 'European' country that meets certain
political and economic criteria. The possible number of members of the EU is
therefore theoretically well over 40. In the short term, three other
countries are lined up to be members in the near future. Bulgaria and
Romania will, so long as there are no major problems, be members as early as
2007.
The third part of that threesome, Turkey, is more problematic. Proposed
Turkish membership of the EU has been and continues to be one of the most
divisive elements in EU affairs. Turkey first applied to join in 1959 and
since then progressive forces within the country have been implementing
reforms - particularly in relation to the Kurdish minority - and have
advanced their arguments for these by referring to the ultimate goal of EU
membership.
Many of the criticisms of Turkey's membership focus on its perceived status
as a 'Muslim' country. However, Turkey is an avowedly secular republic, not
a Islamic state. While many Turks are practising Muslims, Islam is no more a
state religion in Turkey than Christianity is in France. Many people profess
religious belief privately, as in France, but there is a very rigid
distinction between the religious private sphere and its manifestation in
public. The current Turkish government has Islamist roots - but it has
gained power, and retained it, by in effect jettisoning much of that
Islamist past and conforming to Turkey's secular agenda.
Europeans tend to love berating the Americans for their 'Islamophobia' after
September 11th. Editorials, opinion pieces and comments by politicians about
the simplistic attitude of the Americans to Islam have been advanced by a
European mainstream elite, which sees itself more in touch with the Islamic
world. That smugness, however, cannot mask the underlying issues that Europe
itself has about Islam - Valery Giscard D'Estaing, the president of the
Convention on the Future of Europe, declared that it would be the 'end of
the EU' if Turkey joined.
Jacques Chirac on Thursday declared that while Turkey could join, it would
take a 'long, very long time', which translates from French to English as
'well after my term of office'. There is a widespread feeling that there is
'something' about Turkey - that it just wouldn't 'fit' in the EU - that
smacks of the very attitude about Muslims that Europeans so love to
criticise in Washington.
Turkey's membership will also have major psychological implications for
Europeans - who have been taught about their 'Europeaness' through a prism
of geography - from the Atlantic to the Urals and from the Arctic Circle to
the Mediterranean. Turkey, with only Istanbul on the European geographic
'mainland' has always been a problem. What do you do when a country is
somewhat in Europe and mostly in Asia?
The only solution - other than an arbitrary one which hands your ability to
make a political judgment to cartographers - is to recognise that the EU is
about standards and common values, and that states who aspire and can live
up to those common values in our region have the right to become members.
Many would like the EU to stop expanding eastward now - and would love
countries such as Belarus and Ukraine to be a kind of buffer state between
the EU and Russia. Try telling a Ukrainian that you want them to be a
'buffer' in the wider strategic interest and see how popular you will be.
Much of the language used surrounding enlargement is centred around the idea
of countries such as the Czech Republic, Poland etc 'returning to Europe'.
Plate tectonics have not been at play in their 'loss' to Europe - but it has
been a real political and economic loss. How then will we view the
continuing growth of the EU? Many would argue now is the time to pause and
take a breath before enlarging anymore.
But how do you tell Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia or even Georgia that they may
not 'return' to Europe? They were Europeans - and conscious of being so -
while we in this part of Europe lived in mud-huts.
So, 25 today. How many tomorrow? The debate about enlargement is only just
beginning. (END)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adrian Langan is executive director of Bill O'Herlihy Communications and a
long-time pro-EU activist. This is the final article in the series.
===========================================================
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 71: ARTICLE NUMBER NINE
The Rich History of Ukrainian Art, Music, Pysanka, Folk-Art
Arts Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/artgallery.htm
Support "The Action Ukraine Report"...Send A Check Today
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9. POLISH PRESIDENT'S EU ACCESSION ADDRESS IN CENTRAL WARSAW
"We send greetings to our neighbours from Ukraine"
Polish Radio 1, Warsaw, Poland, in Polish, 30 Apr 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, May 01, 2004
Text of Presidential address as carried by Polish radio on 30 April:
[Presenter] Ladies and gentlemen, we are on Pilsudski Square [in central
Warsaw]. In a few minutes, we will join a family of 25 countries.
Here is President Aleksander Kwasniewski:
[Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski ] Speakers of the Senate and Sejm,
Mr Prime Minister, Your Eminence Primate Glemp, Excellencies, and, above
all, dear countrymen and inhabitants of Warsaw. We are meeting today at the
national sanctuary by the Grave of the Unknown Soldier, in a place where
there rest the ashes of our heroes. We have been brought here by respect for
history and the great joy that we are so beautifully supplementing the work
of our fathers.
We say this to those who have not lived to see this great, historical
moment, those who are symbolized by this grave, and to our closest ones, to
who we also want to say that we have carried out a great work - to our
fathers, our mothers, our grandparents, all those who through their great
efforts preceded us on this so very important road.
In a few minutes time, Poland will be in the European Union. We have waited
for this day. We have worked for this historic moment. Let us congratulate
ourselves on the independence and sovereignty of the [Polish] Republic that
was restored by our own hands, the foundation of our road towards Europe.
Let us congratulate ourselves on the democracy for which we unambiguously
declared ourselves and for the collective agreement to the rule of law, this
as the foundation of the existence of our state. These were decisions of
challenge.
We did not always make their consequences clear to ourselves. We did not
always carry through all matters associated with them without error, and
also once and for all. We are certainly still faced by much work, but we
have nonetheless carried out so much that we have passed this examination on
being Europeans to which we have presented ourselves from our own, unforced
freewill.
And today, we are already together, together with a united Europe, the
symbol of freedom and democracy, tolerance, adherence to the law, with a
Europe of partnership and corporation.
Ladies and gentlemen, this night we feel a particular tie with the
generations of our forefathers. As if in a mirror, we can see in this event
1,000 years of [Polish] statehood and culture. We have after all been
participating in the European community since the time of Mieszko I and
Boleslaw Chrobry [late 10th century]. The unification of the continent also
draws from Polish lessons and experiences.
The Gniezno conference, the Polish-Lithuanian Union, the tradition of Polish
tolerance, the thought behind the Constitution of 3 May [1791], the idea
of struggle for your freedom and for ours, the richness of culture that
developed despite the lack of statehood, the civic reawakening thanks to
Solidarity - this is our, the Polish contribution to the European ethos.
For many years, we could not fully and on equal terms participate in the
European structures. What is happening now is what generations of Poles
dreamed of and towards which they moved. At this exceptional moment let us
express words of respect and gratitude to those who did so much for Poland,
for Poles and for Europe.
We thank Pole John Paul II. We remember the words of his Holiness, said
during his pilgrimage to his homeland in 1999: the integration of Poland
with the European Union has from the very start been supported by the Holy
See.
As the president of the Republic, I wish to thank my countrymen for the work
that changed Poland, that prepared the state and the economy for accession.
I thank you for this kind of mass movement on the days of the accession
referendum.
Thanks are due to my predecessor in the office of president, Lech Walesa.
Thanks are due to the Sejm and the Senate, and to the government of the
Third Republic, the prime ministers, starting from Tadeusz Mazowiecki and
through to Leszek Miller. To the ministers of foreign affairs, the
negotiators, the Polish diplomatic service constantly working for the sake
of good compromises.
I also want to stress the achievements for integration of the
non-governmental organizations.
We have succeeded, and I believe that today too, this night and in this
square, irrespective of what we are hearing [constant sound of whistling and
jeering in background throughout most of Kwasniewski's speech], we will
succeed in overcoming party divisions and act in accord. Europe needs a
Poland in accord, a wise Poland and a responsible Poland. [applause, rising
to drown out whistling and jeers]
I am convinced and do believe that we are capable of awakening in ourselves
this good, European spirit. And also in other matters that are of importance
to Poland.
This night, here, I want to direct expressions of gratitude to the friends
in the countries of the hitherto European Union and in the European
institutions, to all of those who have perceived the historic dimension of
expansion and who have displayed boldness and imagination, who have raised
themselves over egoism and stereotypes. We thank you for this trust, we
thank you for your support. I am pleased that you are here, on the square
together with us. [applause]
And I ask you that we, already now and also in the company of 25 states,
remember that the doors to the European Union must remain open. They are
asking towards them all of those who attach their ambitions, hopes and
dreams with the European Union and with European integration. We send
greetings to those countries that so very much count on Poland along their
road.
We send greetings to our neighbours from Ukraine, we send greetings to
our neighbours in the Balkans, we send greetings to all of those who tie
their future to the European Union. [applause]
Ladies and gentlemen, we are creating history. I thus appeal to those
gathered here, and at the same time through the media to those who are
participating in the ceremonies in Poznan and in Wroclaw, on the Hel
Peninsula and in Ciechocinek, in Cracow and in Lublin, I appeal to all
Poles: let us continue to act together, let us leave behind us successive,
good signs.
Our membership of the EU opens enormous possibilities for us, for our
children, grandchildren, future generations. But it depends on us how this
opportunity will be exploited, whether we will give Poland a good history.
We are becoming citizens of the EU, we are taking on coresponsibility for
the fate of a unified Europe. No-one will lift this responsibility from
Poland and no-one is doing so. Let us thus build a strong Poland, a country
with a growing economy and a social sensitivity, and let us build a strong
Europe in solidarity.
For it is today that it transpires that we are capable of attaining even the
most ambitious aims. Today, dreams are becoming reality. Today, Poland is
returning to the European family. Poles, Europeans, greetings in a Europe in
common.
[Presenter] Those were the words of President Aleksander Kwasniewski.
And in the end, this is what democracy is about. Above all it is supporters
of the EU that are gathered on Pilsudski Square, but there is also a group
of opponents. As you heard, a few whistles and a few jeers. (END)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
EDITOR'S NOTE: Will a President of Ukraine ever make an EU
Accession Address, yes or no. If no, why? Is yes, when?
===========================================================
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 71: ARTICLE NUMBER TEN
Politics and Governance, Building a Strong, Democratic Ukraine
http://www.artukraine.com/buildukraine/index.htm
If The Action Ukraine Report is beneficial to you support its publicaton.
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10. "UKRAINE-SLOVAKIA BORDER TOWN LAMENTS NEW EU 'CURTAIN"
Shadow of old Iron Curain grew darker for residents
along Ukraine-Slovakia border in the town of Szelmenc
By Megan McCloskey, The Washington Times
Washington, D.C., Saturday, May 01, 2004
The shadow of the old Iron Curtain grew darker for residents along the
Ukraine-Slovakia border yesterday, even as millions of people elsewhere
celebrated the European Union's enlargement with 10 new nations.
Since the time of Stalin, a barbed-wire divide has run through main
street in the small village of Szelmenc, trapping friends and family members
on opposite sides.
But a 60-year quest by villagers to have a border crossing in the town
became a lot more complicated at midnight (6 p.m. EDT yesterday) when
Slovakia and nine other countries became members of the European Union.
Szelmenc exemplifies a larger issue facing Europe. When the Berlin Wall
fell in 1989, a more elusive economic divide replaced the physical
separation.
The new borders exaggerate the problem as opportunities for Eastern
Europe will be vastly better in those nations now in the European Union.
Millions of people throughout Europe yesterday celebrated the European
Union's expansion into a potential economic and political powerhouse of 25
nations and 450 million citizens.
But the legacy of the Soviet Union continued to affect the daily lives
of the residents of Szelmenc - or Solontsi on the Ukrainian side and Velke
Slemence on the Slovakian side.
"Both villages are dead-end streets," Lajos Toth, mayor of the Slovakian
side, told lawmakers on Capitol Hill recently.
Development has stalled on both sides, leaving the village populated by
ethnic Hungarians with crumbling streets and no public lighting.
Even before yesterday if a villager in Ukraine wanted to visit a friend
on the other side in Slovakia, he had to apply for a visa a couple weeks in
advance, pay $35, and then travel to Cierna - a day's journey from the
village - just to get to a house he could see from his window.
The Soviet Union created the peculiar situation in 1944 to push its
territory as far west as possible, said Miklos Zelei, a Hungarian author who
wrote a book about Szelmenc. Family members caught on opposite sides
were not allowed to go home.
On the Ukraine side, the only public facilities are a Catholic Church
and a grocery store, said its mayor, Jozsef Illar.
Moreover, officials from both sides said relationships between family
members are quickly being lost. When someone dies, the casket is brought
up to the fence so loved ones on the other side can say their goodbyes.
Under EU law, Slovakia had to institute visas with Ukraine, which went
into effect in June of 2000.
Before that, when Ukraine had grown accustomed to an open border with
Slovakia, Szelmenc had been left behind because the nearest border crossing
was 30 miles away.
Since the border between the two countries is now an external border of
the European Union, building a border crossing in the village is even more
complicated.
EU member countries no longer have internal border checks; traveling
among the countries is similar to crossing state lines in the United States.
In an age of global terrorism, free travel within the European Union
makes its outside borders important to security, and therefore all border
crossings along the perimeter of the union must be full-fledged,
international checkpoints requiring passports - and visas from certain
neighboring countries.
With some of the 15-member European Union ambivalent about yesterday's
expansion and with thwarting terrorism a top priority, the 10 new EU nations
have a tightrope to walk in terms of border control.
There is a fear of being labeled as having a weak border, said Rastislav
Kacer, Slovakia's ambassador to the United States.
Slovakia has to balance its desire to help the villagers of Szelmenc
without facilitating illegal immigration or undermining security, he said.
Addressing the challenges facing the newly enlarged European Union, the
bloc is considering legislation that would allow Szelmenc and other border
towns to have a pedestrian border crossing for local residents.
The U.S. Congressional Human Rights Caucus, considers the plight of the
villagers a humanitarian issue. On March 29, members of the caucus wrote
a letter to the leaders of both countries to encourage a solution.
Slovakia was behind the original Iron Curtain, which separated
Soviet-bloc nations such as Poland and what was then Czechoslovakia from
Western Europe.
The divided village represented another aspect of the Cold War, in which
the Soviet Union sought further separation from its Eastern European
satellites.
However, Olexander Scherba, counselor for the Ukraine Embassy, said,
"Ukraine doesn't see it as a Yalta problem. This is a reflection of the new
danger facing Eastern Europe."
The Slovak side of Szelmenc, located in one of the poorest regions of
Slovakia where the average earnings are only 30 percent of the EU average,
will benefit from EU funding programs. The Ukraine half of the village is
expected to remain stagnant.
Mr. Kacer described the region in eastern Slovakia as appearing like the
end of the world - a place where Ukraine is being left behind while Slovakia
takes its place alongside its wealthier neighbors. (END)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINK: http://www.washtimes.com/world/20040430-115503-6496r.htm
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