Post Staff Writer
 President Kuchma speaks to the press as Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski looks on during a press conference in Warsaw on Feb. 12. The leaders met to discuss bilateral links and the future �Year of Poland in Ukraine,� a cultural and business exchange. (UNIAN) |
Though Poland�s accession to the European Union threatens to create a gulf between it and Ukraine, Poland�s president Aleksander Kwasniewski will arrive here on April 1 for a three-day visit to officially kick off the Year of Poland in Ukraine. The year-long celebrations, which aim to strengthen the economic partnership between the two countries, will begin exactly one month before Poland becomes an EU member state. The move, some skeptics say, may further tighten the border between the two countries. |
In preparing for entry into the EU, and to fall into step with Schengen Country visa regulations, Poland has made access more difficult. Since late 2003 Ukrainians traveling to Poland have been required to obtain a visa.
Despite this, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kostyantyn Hryshchenko said that 2004 should be a year in which relations between the two countries will further develop.
Representatives from both countries stressed that Poland won�t forget its eastern neighbor. After Poland achieves EU membership, they said, Ukraine�s position will actually improve.
�I would like to remind you that the Year of Poland in Ukraine will be taken under the slogan �Together towards Europe,�� said Poland�s ambassador to Ukraine Marek Ziulkowski according to the Glavred.info Web site. �As an EU member, Poland will more effectively promote the Polish-Ukrainian partnership in both economic and political dimensions.�
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Tabachnyk, who was appointed chair of the organizing committee for Ukraine, echoed Ziulkowski�s comments.
�The Year of Poland in Ukraine will strengthen the strategic nature of our partnership, especially in light of the recent EU expansion,� Tabachnyk told Prodnobosti on March 22. �Poland has been accepted to become a full-fledged member recently, and it will have the power to influence the EU�s policy towards its eastern borders, including [that of] Ukraine.�
As a further gesture of the two countries� cooperation, Ziulkowski added that 2005 will be the Year of Ukraine in Poland.
The relationship between the two countries was bolstered on Feb. 4 after Ukraine confirmed that Caspian oil in the Odessa-Brody pipeline would flow towards Europe and, perhaps, on to Poland if a Polish extension is built in the future. For months, it has been unclear whether Russian oil would instead fill the pipeline and head south, to the Black Sea.
Also according to Prodnobosti, the two countries discussed moves to improve cooperation in the science, culture and tourism sectors. Representatives from both sides also specifically mentioned student exchanges as an example of the kinds of activities expected in the coming 12 months.
Poland has continually been one of the strongest supporters of Ukrainian interests internationally. Poland was the first country to recognize Ukraine�s declaration of independence in 1991, and recently the two Eastern European nations have fielded a combined force in the post-conflict stabilization of Iraq.