Delivering a speech at the opening
of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly "Ukraine-Poland-Lithuania", Head
of the Ukrainian Party of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, Deputy Chairman of
the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Mykola Tomenko greeted his Polish colleagues and
Deputies of the Polish Parliament, and expressed his hopes that the common work
would be effective and fruitful to facilitate further development of mutually
profitable Ukrainian-Polish relations.
Mykola Tomenko stated that Ukrainian-Polish dialogue is being supported by the fundamentally new elements. He emphasized that both states had made considerable contributions into European and global security, and were going to tackle the issues of formation of a stable, democratic and flourishing society in the Central-Eastern Europe.
The Deputy Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament emphasized that among priority goals in the cooperation with the European Union, Ukraine singled out strengthening of cooperation in the sphere of energy security, completion of negotiations and conclusion of the Association agreement, formation of a free trade zone, observance of the principles of the Visa-Free Regime Action Plan, implementation of the coordinated priorities within the Eastern Partnership, and fulfillment of obligations concerning accession of Ukraine to the European Energy Community. He stressed that Ukraine expected sustainable cooperation and support in the light of the above mentioned obligations and goals. "I am convinced that there are no alternatives to the strategic partnership between Ukraine and Poland. Our state and people shall develop good neighborly relations with respect and harmony, building a common European home", M. Tomenko declared.
Among other issues that require priority attention of Ukrainian and Polish parliamentarians, the Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine mentioned development of interregional cooperation, reconstruction of active crossing points on the State border and opening of new ones, introduction of common customs control, preparation and holding of the European Football Championship 2012.
The Head of the Ukrainian Party of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly reminded that on February 15, several working groups would convene within the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly "Ukraine-Poland-Lithuania." The working groups will prepare respective reports to become the basis of the forthcoming documents.