[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 25 (Monday, June 28, 1999)]
[Pages 1164-1165]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
United States-European Union Summit Statement on Ukraine

June 21, 1999

    Ukraine's successful transition to a democratic and market oriented 
country, secure within its borders, is crucial for long-term stability 
in Central and Eastern Europe and the continent as a whole. Helping 
Ukraine achieve these objectives is one of the top priorities for U.S.-
EU cooperation. The EU and the U.S., as Ukraine's largest donors, share 
a strategic interest in the successful evolution of Ukraine toward a 
prosperous economy and stable democracy and in bringing Ukraine more 
fully into Euroatlantic structures. The EU and the U.S. welcome the 
progress made in the realization of their strategic partnerships with 
Ukraine and look forward to a further deepening of these relationships. 
We commend Ukraine for the important progress it has achieved in recent 
months, in particular the economic reform measures which have allowed 
Ukraine to return to compliance with its IMF program. We urge President 
Kuchma to seize the opportunity presented by the renewal of the IMF 
program to push forward his reform agenda, including privatization of 
large industries, agricultural and energy sector reform, restructuring 
of the financial sector, as well as improvements in public 
administration. We encourage Ukraine in its efforts to accede to the WTO 
and will support decisive action in establishing a favorable environment 
for foreign investments and in removing key obstacles to trade.

[[Page 1165]]

    We note Ukraine's progress on democracy. However, we call on 
Ukraine's leaders to ensure a free and fairly contested presidential 
campaign leading up to the October 31 presidential election in 
compliance with OSCE and Council of Europe standards. A free and fair 
election will be an important step in the transition of democracy and 
demonstrate that it is taking firm root in Ukraine. We express our 
continued support for efforts to develop the rule of law and institute 
an effective presidential electoral process. In this context, we 
emphasize the need to protect the freedom of the media. These are 
fundamental underpinnings to democracy in Ukraine. In that regard, we 
consider Ukraine's recent decision to retain a continued OSCE presence 
in Ukraine another important signal of Ukraine's determination to meet 
its commitments to democratization and to Euroatlantic cooperation. We 
support the continued efforts of Ukraine to play a responsible role in 
relations with neighboring states and within the larger transatlantic 
relationship. We welcome Ukraine's commitment to regional cooperation as 
well as its contributions to find solutions to the conflicts in 
Transnistria and Kosovo.
    As Ukraine continues its transition to democracy and a free market, 
we recognize the social problems arising from necessary social 
adjustment and remain committed to joint U.S.-EU efforts that bolster 
Ukraine. We strongly encourage Ukraine's efforts to implement additional 
power sector reforms, particularly increased cash collections and 
strategic privatization of energy distribution companies, as crucial 
components of the energy investment strategy embodied in the 
G-7/Ukraine Memorandum of Understanding on Chernobyl Closure. We 
reiterate our commitment to the closure of Chernobyl in the year 2000. 
We reaffirm our commitment to assist Ukraine in securing the financing 
necessary to strengthen its energy sector, facilitate Chernobyl closure 
and in securing the remaining financing of the necessary stabilization 
of the Chernobyl sarcophagus.
    We applaud the initial project under the U.S.-EU civil society 
program to support Ukrainian non-governmental organizations working to 
build democracy in Ukraine, as well as the agreement to launch the Kiev 
Regional Environmental Center sponsored jointly by the EU and the U.S. 
We look forward to inaugurating our other joint projects. We are 
actively considering the possibility of launching a joint project on 
public health issues in Ukraine. We have illustrated our common view on 
the importance of economic reform, as well as our commitment to further 
Ukraine's economic transition, through our joint demarche to President 
Kuchma and Rada Speaker Tkachenko.

Note: An original was not available for verification of the content of 
this joint statement.