Great Britain will support all the efforts of Ukraine to join the European Union if the country continues implementing democratic reforms, Britain's Minister of State for European Affairs Geoff Hoon said at a press conference at the end of a two-day visit to Ukraine on Tuesday, “Cabinet press office” reported.
"Britain is the biggest supporter of continuation of the expansion of the European Union, and I want to stress in all my meetings, including today, that the door should remain open to Ukraine and other countries if these continue implementing democratic reforms," Mr. Hoon said.
He stressed that he was happy to visit Ukraine to see with his own eyes the changes that have taken place in Ukraine since he last visited the country in 2002.
He noted that the more progress Ukraine makes in reforming its key institutions the better because these reforms are important for Ukraine itself.
Responding the journalists’ question on how the process of redistribution of power between the President and Prime Minister of Ukraine measured in terms of European democratic traditions, Mr. Hoon admitted all countries experience difficulties of political or constitutional nature from time to time and opined that the most important thing is to ensure that these difficulties not to stop the democratic process and not to obstruct the rule of law.
"We were able to see the will of the Ukrainian people to support democracy, and it is very important that such a will was demonstrated to the entire world," he said.
According to him, bilateral relations between Ukraine and Great Britain are very strong and friendly. He expressed the hope that they will remain this way and possibly broaden within the context of the European Union.
Regarding the prospects for a new, broader agreement between Ukraine and the European Union, he said that the agreement would be quite comprehensive and that it would serve a mechanism for Ukraine to harmonize its legislation with the legislation of the European Union and conduct dialogue at a high level.
During his two-day visit, Mr. Hoon met with President Viktor Yuschenko, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, and Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Volodymyr Handohiy.
He also met with Vitaliy Klychko, a former world heavyweight boxing champion and Kyiv municipal council deputy, as well as with Lylia Podkopaeva, an Olympic champion in artistic gymnastics and United Nations goodwill ambassador.
