Brussels – Belgium supports the European future of Ukraine and therefore is planning to step up Ukraine-EU cooperation during its presidency of the European Union, Belgian Foreign Minister Yves Leterme has said.
He made the statement after a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko in Brussels on Friday.
“It’s important for Ukraine to know that Belgium supports Ukraine’s European future. Ukraine is a European country from the point of view of its culture,” Leterme said.
“I think that working together in the sphere of our cooperation, we’ll be successful,” he said.
He said that Belgium’s presidency of the EU, which starts on July 1, 2010 would be “extremely positive” for Ukraine.
Leterme said that the foreign ministers had agreed to start working in order to prepare for this period.
He also described the question of visa regime facilitation as a “cornerstone” of cooperation.
“I think that we can improve the situation. We, Belgium, want to support the European future of Ukraine, and in such specific talks that concern the visa regime facilitation, we want to take a step forward,” Leterme said.
Poroshenko, in turn, said that “although talks on visa regime simplification are being held at the European Commission, support from national governments is extremely important for us.”
Poroshenko also said he pinned high hopes on Belgium’s upcoming presidency of the EU.
He said that the Ukraine-EU summit to be held in September 2010 had already been planned.
“We have agreed on concrete measures to step up Ukraine-EU cooperation during Belgium’s presidency of the European Union. We have an absolutely complete understanding – clear contacts were established between the ministers – and I hope that this will improve our dialog,” he said.
