Russia made some concessions, but continues its aggression against Ukraine. The idea of “Novorossia” (New Russia) is buried, the requirement to make Russian as Ukraine’s second official language is no longer in the air. If you recall Russia’s demands to Ukraine at the beginning of the conflict, none of them is fulfilled. The diplomacy of coercion intends to force the enemy to change their policy without defeating them in a battle.
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Despite the importance of the safety factor, an armed conflict on the territory of Ukraine and Russia’s aggression did frighten the European Union, which has adopted a positive decision on the abolition of visas at first instance, said Executive Director of “Europe without Barriers” NGO Iryna Sushko to the channel Espreso TV.
“Why? Because all the reforms, which were introduced as part of the action plan on visa liberalization, were designed in order to improve security. For example, within the framework of the visa liberalization the concept of integrated border management was introduced, as well as biometric passports and a new level of information systems that enable active information exchange between various departments, “said the expert.
“Are you aware that Vienna is closer to Ukraine than to the Austrian border with Switzerland?” Almost every discussion on Ukrainian-Austrian relations begins with this phrase. Then the interlocutors mention that only a century ago the Western regions of modern Ukraine were a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. However, in reality, multiple cultural, political and economic ties, that united the two nations in the past, now are almost forgotten both in Ukraine and in Austria. Until 2014, the Austrians, as, indeed, a large part of EU citizens, often confused Ukraine and Russia, because they knew almost nothing about the former.
On March 16, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko approved the “Concept for the Development of the Security and Defense Sector”. The document lays out the “Western” vision for Ukraine’s security and defense sector reform and specifies the goals for this process. The concept paper also shows that security sector reform is likely to develop at a slow pace and that it will take substantial time to be implemented. The paper further details the inherent risks to reform from problems arising from economic solvency and sustainability.
In the near future the EU will find a compromise concerning Ukraine taking into account the interests of the Dutch and the position of Ukraine and the EU, said Mykhaylo Pashkov, Co-director of Foreign Relations and International Security Programmes at the Razumkov Centre, to the “From UA” online publication. According to him, the decision of the Netherlands to continue negotiations on the EU-Ukraine agreement does not affect the European perspectives of our country.
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The cooperation trends set in the early 1990s have largely determined the dynamics of the Ukraine-Hungary bilateral relations for the past 25 years. In December 1991, Prime Minister of Hungary József Antall and President of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk signed the Ukrainian-Hungarian bilateral treaty in Kyiv that became the foundation for bilateral relations. It was a fundamental document that outlined the most important commitments of both parties: absence of territorial claims between both countries and guarantees of the mutual protection of minority rights. In fact, the signing of this agreement was a symbolic act for both sides: Budapest demonstrated to the international community that it envisioned relations with its neighbors based on the principles of friendship and respect, whereas Kyiv effectively addressed the question regarding one of its most sizeable ethnic minorities hoping to set an example for Crimea and Bukovyna.
Ukraine’s State Fiscal Service and law enforcement bodies have to deal with the Russian offshore companies owning Ukrainian enterprises and, thus, potentially threatening the economy of Ukraine, says Vasyl Yurchyshyn, Director of Economic Programmes at Razumkov Center.
“Ukraine’s Fiscal Service and certain law enforcement agencies really need to deal with the property of such companies to prevent the withdrawal of assets through various mechanisms of the economy or other damage to Ukraine’s economy,” says the expert.
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The Institute of World Policy prepared a memo ahead of the visit of the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko to Romania on the signals worth sending to the Romanian decision-makers and society.
Oleksiy Melnyk, co-director of programs on foreign policy and international security for the Razumkov Center explained why it is important to refuse from the definition “Anti-Terrorist Operation” and recognize that Russia is an aggressor state and Ukraine is at war with it.
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In her interview to the “Belsat TV” television channel, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Think Tanks Liaison Office in Brussels Olena Prystayko commented the intention of the European Commission to propose granting visa-free travel to Ukrainians despite a Dutch referendum vote against an EU-Ukraine agreement.
According to Mrs. Prystayko, Ukraine is ready for visa-free travel to the EU, and the mobility of Ukrainian citizens is an important factor for building a democratic society.” “Ukraine and EU will reach a consensus regarding the referendum in the Netherlands, so that the interests of the Dutch, Ukrainians and other EU citizens are addressed,” she says.