This was stated by Ambassador Borys TARASYUK at the international conference "Ukraine and the European Union: Mutual Interests." The conference, organized by the Institute of Euro-Atlantic Cooperation jointly with the representative office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Ukraine, is dedicated to the political and socio-economic consequences for Ukraine of the enlargement of the European Union. Participants in the forum include Acting Head of the Delegation of the European Commission in Ukraine Stefan SKOVMAND, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassadors - of the Federal Republic of Germany in Ukraine Dietmar STÜDEMANN, of the Republic of Poland in Ukraine Marek ZÓŁKOWSKI, of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine Monique FRANK, of the Hungarian Republic in Ukraine János TÓT, Director of the Representative Office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Ukraine Ralf WAKSMUTH, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleksandr CHALY, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on European Integration, Director of the Institute of Euro-Atlantic Cooperation Borys TARASYUK, politicians, experts, representatives of non-governmental organizations and analytical centers.
"Despite Ukraine's proclamation of a strategic course toward integration into the European Union, the existence of developed strategies and programs, the process of EU enlargement, unfortunately, is taking place without Ukraine," said today at the International Conference "Ukraine and the European Union: Mutual Interests" the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on European Integration, Director of the Institute of Euro-Atlantic Cooperation Borys TARASYUK.
He expressed concern about statements heard recently from the European Union regarding Ukraine's integration prospects. At the same time, Ambassador TARASYUK emphasized that the latest statement by the EU leadership regarding the actual refusal to Ukraine in its European integration aspirations was "inadequately presented by domestic media," which does not coincide with the original text of the statement. "This indicates either unprofessionalism or a deliberate attempt to throw another piece of disinformation into Ukrainian society."
The Director of the Institute of Euro-Atlantic Cooperation emphasized that today's Conference is taking place against the backdrop of the development of a new policy toward the neighbors of an enlarged Europe. He also recalled that the enlarged European Union now includes 25 countries with a population of 450 million people, and the combined GDP of the EU countries amounts to 10 trillion dollars.
Borys TARASYUK expressed the need to resolve urgent issues regarding Ukraine's current place and role in the new geopolitical space of Europe. In particular, the Ambassador believes, it is important for Ukraine to receive clear answers as to what the prospects are for relations between Ukraine and the EU, what documents will regulate these relations, whether Ukraine will obtain the status of a country with a market economy, where we are and what we will receive from EU enlargement.
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