Strategicity, synergy, and consistency are the main principles of Ukraine’s success on its way to the European Union. This was the motto of the conference “Strategic Partnership: Deepening Ukrainian-Polish Relations in the European Context”, organised by the Institute for Economic Studies.
Inna Pidlutska, Deputy Executive Director of the International Renaissance Foundation, delivered a welcoming speech.
The Ambassador of Poland to Ukraine, Jaroslaw Guzy, assured that Poland is a partner of Ukraine, in particular, on its path to European integration. However, he voiced some reservations about joining the EU. According to him, joining the EU is not a single step, but a long tiring run with obstacles over rough terrain. At the same time, Ukraine should think not only about joining the EU, but also about how to continue working in the EU.
Europe ends where Russia begins, said Yaroslav Guzy.
Ambassador of Ukraine to Poland Vasyl Zvarych stressed the strategic role of the Ukrainian-Polish partnership. He noted that Ukraine and Poland are comparable countries in terms of size, potential, mentality, and historical proximity. And Ukraine is interested in the Polish experience. According to the ambassador, the EU is interested in Ukraine’s membership, as enlargement is a geostrategic investment in peace, security, stability and prosperity.
During the first session “The Future of the European Union with Ukraine: Challenges and Benefits”, moderated by Veronika Movchan, Research Director of the IER, the speakers discussed the challenges and tasks facing Ukraine on its way to the EU. The discussion was attended by Oleksandr Ilkov, Director General of the Office for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Alberto Fernandez-Diez, Head of Trade and Economic Section of the EU Delegation to Ukraine, Tomasz Wróblewski, President of the Warsaw Institute of Entrepreneurship, Dmytro Shulga, Director of the Europe and the World Programme at the International Renaissance Foundation.
The second session “Learning from the Polish Experience: Policy, Adaptation and Growth in the EU”, moderated by the Chairman of the Board of the IER Igor Burakovsky, was devoted to the application of the Polish experience by Ukraine.
Speakers were Piotr Palutkiewicz, Vice President of the Warsaw Institute of Entrepreneurship, Jolanta Szymanska from the Polish Institute of International Relations, Krzysztof Głowacki, analyst at WISE-Europe, Andrii Deshchytsia, Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Poland (2014-2022), Yuliia Klymenko, First Deputy Head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Transport and Infrastructure, Ivan Nagorniak, Advisor to the Centre for Economic Recovery, Head of European Integration at EasyBusiness.
The third session, “Creating a framework for cooperation: politics, business and innovation”, moderated by Lukasz Wojdyga, Deputy Director of the Centre for Strategic Studies at the Warsaw Institute of Entrepreneurship, was dedicated to existing and potential areas of cooperation.
Participants included Oksana Myronko, Head of Communications at the EBA, Pawel Kokhanowicz, First Secretary of the Economic Section of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Ukraine, Szymon Waszczyn, President of the International Association of Polish Entrepreneurs in Ukraine, Valeriy Korol, Vice President of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Olga Trofimtseva, Ambassador at Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (2022-2023), and Yaroslav Romanchuk, Chairman of the Board of the Association of Ukrainian Business in Poland.
Source: IER
