Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko was committed to a three-year reform program already agreed with Brussels, aimed at putting Ukraine — the largest country wholly in Europe — on the path to Western-style democracy, he declared in an interview with The Times.
Ukraine’s President insisted that as soon as the reforms were completed, he wanted to start official entry talks to join the EU. “We think it very essential that the joint three-year EU-Ukraine action plan leads to the launch of membership negotiations in 2007,” he said.
He also insisted that his reforms would go ahead irrespective of EU membership. “The policy we are shaping now is not for the EU. This is the policy we are shaping for our nation. We want freedom of speech and rule of law, we want democratic values to be respected, we want the free and competitive market to work. We need those things irrespective of whether we join the EU.”