11 February 2009, 15:05
On Tuesday, 10 February, Ukrainian parliamentary delegation headed by Volodymyr Lytvyn, Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, met the leaders of 13 large European and multi-national companies that actively invest in Ukraine.
The meeting was organized by the Business Council Ukraine-EU. Ukrainian parliament members were addressed by the leaders of such companies as "Imperial Tobacco", "Westinghause", "Shell", «ArcelorMittal», "Case New Holland", "John Deere", "IBM", "Boeing", "Bunge", "Blueprint", "First International Resources", "Freshfield Bruckhaus Derringer".
The participants of the meeting discussed current state of relations between Ukraine and the EU and negotiations concerning signing of the Agreement on Association that should include a regulation regarding a free trade zone between Ukraine and the EU.
The Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine stressed the importance of internal reforms for creation of a legal field and favourable conditions for the development of business. V.Lytvyn deems necessary to adhere to the political agreements concerning enhancement of relations with the EU, especially the arrangement regarding Agreement on Association. He supposes that it may be completed till the next presidential elections in Ukraine.
The participants of the meeting discussed the following issues: energy safety; development and potential of nuclear power engineering in Ukraine; diversification of power system; enhancement of efficiency of mineral resources extraction; implementation of infrastructure projects by means of information technologies; development of civil aviation in Ukraine.
The participants also discussed a number of issues problematic for the European business.