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Our state extremely highly values trade relations with the European Union whose principles are stipulated in the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU, including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area. We see enhanced trade and economic relations with Europe as a major opportunity to accelerate the modernization of the national industry, create the most favorable investment climate, and safeguard the rights of owners and investors. This opinion was expressed by President of the Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Anatoliy Kinakh during debates on the subject "How to Trade with Our Neighbors. Neighborhood and Enlargement Policy, " held as part of the European Business Summit in Brussels.
The results of these and other debates at the Summit will be conducive to extending the EU trade strategy "Trade for All: Towards a more responsible trade and investment policy," which was published by the European Commission in late 2015. Today, EU institutions together with the leading business associations in Europe and prominent business people of the continent and the rest of the world are doing their best to fully implement this ambitious and far-reaching strategy to ensure European companies' access to other countries, especially when it goes about small- and medium-sized businesses.
"By taking serious steps in the framework of free trade with the EU, seeking quick adaptation to European standards and regulations, we are trying to make cooperation with the EU as efficient as possible, namely ensuring that its financial assistance and investment could help make loans affordable to entrepreneurs in Ukraine, facilitate modernization of the economy without plugging different gaps, and reach a particular company, supporting small and medium businesses, which are key to the formation of a strong middle class, a guarantee of democratic reforms in the country. We insist: policy promoting Ukraine's trade and economic relations must be improved," Anatoliy Kinakh said.
He agreed with many participants in the Summit who underlined that it is the small businesses that face trade challenges on the foreign and EU domestic markets. So, more efforts should be made to help the small businesses so they could also use the opportunities of free trade and have more impact on EU trade policy.
The leader of the Ukrainian business community said that the reform of EU trade policy at all stages of this large-scale and challenging work, which will directly influence Ukraine, should foresee the active participation of members of civil society, associations and business unions, numerous experienced experts. The Ukrainian industrialists and entrepreneurs, based on their representative office in Brussels, are ready to participate in this process.
According to him, the Agreement on the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area between the EU and Ukraine, which entered into force on January 1, 2016, is an important milestone in relations between the EU and Ukraine, and our state together with European partners should make every effort to use the economic benefits of the agreement to significantly improve the business climate and raise needed foreign investment.
Brussels hosted the European Business Summit, which was for the first time co-organized by the Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (ULIE). Its delegation, led by ULIE President Anatoliy Kinakh, included about 50 respected entrepreneurs, politicians and opinion leaders and aimed to draw most of investors' attention to Ukraine's potential and significantly increase Ukrainian producers' export opportunities.
The Summit brought together more than 2,000 participants from EU countries, high-ranking representatives of EU institutions. Honorary guests of the event were President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz, President of the European Council Donald Tusk, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde, and others.