Cooperation with the Baltic countries

The ULIE with its experience of international activity of more than 20 years influences the forming of the country's foreign economic strategy and understanding of Ukraine's place in the world.

In 2014, Ukraine signed the Association Agreement with the EU and the Ukrainian parliament ratified it in the same year. A free trade area with the EU will be created on January 1, 2016, and autonomous preferences in trade between the EU and Ukraine are in force from April 2014 until late April 2015.

The ULIE made serious efforts to achieve such results in the process of European integration. Back in March 2011 Member of Parliament Anatoliy Kinakh co-chaired the European Choice inter-factional working group in the Ukrainian parliament. An informal group of Friends of European Ukraine was created in the European Parliament to demonstrate its support for Ukraine's integration into the EU. Both sides focused on the exchange of integration experience and on the streamlining of the Ukrainian legislation with the EU's requirements.

For several years the ULIE strived for the approval of the national program of the Ukrainian economy adaptation to the conditions of free trade with the EU (standards, technical regulations, modernization). In December 2014, a delegation of ULIE representatives and Ukrainian businessmen visited the European Parliament and European Commission in Brussels. Another stage of communication with the European partners began. It included the elaboration of specific modernization programs, economic reform implementation, a dialogue of new type between businesses and the government, particularly between Ukrainian business associations and the leadership of the European Parliament and European Commission.

The sides stressed the importance of tackling such pragmatic issues as help to adapt local businesses to the conditions of free trade with the EU in the sphere of technical and sanitary standards, standardization and certification systems of the EU and Ukraine, creation of laboratories certified according to the requirements of the EU and modern certification centers.

A roundtable discussion was held in Brussels with the participation of representatives of BUSINESSEUROPE, the largest business union in Europe, to discuss the possibility of providing Ukraine with technical assistance, implementation of infrastructure projects in the sphere of energy efficiency, support for small- and medium-sized businesses, micro crediting, adaptation of technical regulations, standards and certification.

The League also actively works in the Polish direction. It has partnership relations with the Polish-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce co-chaired by ULIE President Anatoliy Kinakh and former Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller. The ULIE jointly with the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council coordinate efforts in the sphere of investment encouragement, introduction of energy saving technologies and speeding up the ratification of the Cape Town Convention which was adopted for the development of financial leasing.

The center for export support has been created under the ULIE to help national industrialists and entrepreneurs to find new market outlets.

There are two sectoral blocs – Ukraina Prodovolcha (Chumak and AVK companies) and Ukraina Budivelna (ENRAN, Granit, AVT and Elektrofarfor companies) – and two more blocs – Ukraina Promyslova and Green Technologies – will start to work soon.

The Center for Export Support has wide international contacts with Italian, Polish, Slovenian, Austrian, German and other diplomatic and business structures. Effectiveness of its activity is ensured by close cooperation with business unions which have agreements with the ULIE, direct contacts with trade chains, general contractors of construction projects in the leading countries of the world, Ukraine's embassies abroad, Ukraine's representative offices abroad, honorary consuls, etc. Ukrainian export is promoted in Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, the United States, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Latvia, Lithuania, Israel, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands, Canada, Nigeria, South Korea.

Head of the Business Support Center, ULIE Vice President Denys Krasnikov

Phone: +38 (044) 272 0246

E-mail: krasnikov@uspp.org.ua

The ULIE also permanently works on the economization of Ukraine's foreign policy. This is demonstrated by visits of big Ukrainian business delegations to China, Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, Poland, Greece, Cuba, Brazil, Cyprus and other countries during official visits of the Ukrainian president and government delegations. The ULIE sends its representatives to intergovernmental commissions for cooperation, permanent structures that represent the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in its relations with foreign governments, contribute to the deepening of trade and economic and science and technology cooperation. The League establishes direct contacts between entrepreneurs from various countries. Such activity allows extending the markets, attracting investment and developing innovative economy.

The League has concluded a total of 155 international agreements on cooperation and partnership, including the ones with the peers in Argentina, Belarus, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Armenia, Spain, Kazakhstan, China, Korea, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Chile, Japan. The ULIE has its foreign representative offices in 21 countries of the world.

The Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and the Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists created Ukrainian-Lithuanian Business Council in April 2013. At the same time Lithuanian-Ukrainian Business Council was founded in Vilnius. The business councils contribute to the intensification of business communication between Ukraine and Lithuania, improvement of investment climate, providing specific support for companies during the preparations for the implementation of joint projects. Lithuania's unique experience in the sphere of European integration is very important to Ukrainian industrialists, considering the fact that Lithuania has passed its way towards joining the EU not long ago and it started practically from the same positions as Ukraine.

The key directions of the activity of Ukrainian-Lithuanian Business Council include:

- energy efficiency, energy saving, alternative energy sources;

- corporate security of enterprises;

- cooperation between regions;

- production of eco fertilizers, environmentally friendly products, packaging, furniture;

- production of environmentally safe water treatment systems as well as industrial and domestic water drainage systems;

- investment projects;

- joint promotion of goods onto the markets of third countries.

In October 2014, Kyiv hosted the 4th meeting of the Ukrainian-Lithuanian and Lithuanian-Ukrainian business councils with the participation of businessmen from both countries, heads of profile associations, Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Jan Tombinski, Ambassador of Lithuania to Ukraine Petras Vaitiekunas, member of the European Economic and Social Committee Gintaras Morkis and others. Sections on construction, machine building, alternative energy and tourism worked during the meeting. A number of bilateral documents was signed.

ULIE First Vice President Serhiy Prokhorov heads the Ukrainian-Lithuanian Business Council, while President of JSC Grigiskes Gitaurus Pangonis heads the Lithuanian-Ukrainian Business Council.

Department for International Relations. Phone: (044) 278 2981, (044) 536 9642, e-mail: ved3@uspp.org.ua