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The Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs has met with BUSINESSEUROPE, Europe's largest business association, to discuss the most efficient use of all the benefits offered by the free trade area between Ukraine and the European Union.
In particular, they touched upon the issues related to boosting cooperation between Ukrainian representatives and the national unions of industrialists and entrepreneurs that are members of BUSINESSEUROPE, namely partners from France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy.
During their meeting, President of the Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (ULIE) Anatoliy Kinakh and BUSINESSEUROPE Director General Markus J. Beyrer coordinated efforts to ensure preparations for the European Business Summit (EBS), which will begin in Brussels on June 1. The Ukrainian industrialists and entrepreneurs will for the first time act as co-organizers of this major business event in Europe: a large delegation of Ukrainian businesses will be engaged in the summit's work, and ULIE President Anatoliy Kinakh is scheduled to address one of the EBS panels.
The partners also discussed ways of solving practical tasks that are of interest to Ukrainian businessmen and their European colleagues. They touched upon such issues as the insurance of European investment, which will let Western partners feel more confident on the Ukrainian market, while Ukrainian entrepreneurs will obtain much needed stimuli to grow. In addition, the parties emphasized the need to improve Ukrainian entrepreneurs' access to loans, step up business security and considered proposals to improve cooperation between the Ukrainian business community and the EU's structures.
Innovation, advanced technologies and products of critical import were named among the priority areas of cooperation between Ukrainian and European business organizations.
"It is important that Ukrainian producers work to continue their adaptation to technical regulations and requirements of the EU, and our partners from BUSINESSEUROPE can contribute to this in the best possible way," ULIE President Anatoly Kinakh said.
As of today, the organizations work under a signed memorandum of cooperation, which provides for the implementation of a number of concrete measures. It must be noted that to maintain an ongoing dialogue with European partners, the ULIE opened a representative office of Ukrainian businesses in the EU in spring 2015.
The partners also reviewed a plan of joint actions for 2016, which provided for the joint monitoring of mutual obligations of Ukraine and the EU under the provisions of the Association Agreement, consulting as well.
Kinakh invited representatives of BUSINESSEUROPE and national associations that are members of this organization, European business leaders to the third Kyiv International Economic Forum, which is to be held in the Ukrainian capital this autumn.
The ULIE President's plans included a meeting with representatives of the European External Action Service (EEAS) on April 14 and discussions of future prospects of the participation of the civil platforms of Ukraine and the EU in events held within the Eastern Partnership framework. Not long ago, a large-scale conference was held at the European Parliament, which was attended by Ukrainian NGOs and business organizations.
The leader of Ukraine's entrepreneurial and industrial community will also meet with representatives of the Cabinet of the EU Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations. They will focus on ways to deepen cooperation, including at the non-governmental level, promote Ukraine's European integration course and establish effective channels of horizontal communication.