The Kingdom of Belgium Order - the Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II was conferred on Borys Tarasiuk, Chairman of the European Integration Committee
16 December 2010, 11:09
The
award is one of the most significant
Orders of the Kingdom of Belgium.
During the grand ceremony, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belgium to Ukraine Mark Vink emphasised that this award "is not only the best way to honour the contributions of Borys Tarasiuk, but also to highly evaluate his efforts in the development of strong bilateral relations between Ukraine and the European Union, emphasizing particular acts in the light of integration."
In particular, the Belgian diplomat reminded that during B. Tarasiuk´s work in Brussels (1995-1998), NATO-Ukraine Special Partnership Charter was signed, whereby Ukraine participated in peacemaking operations in the Balkans. "Such cooperation opened the doors for the Ukrainian participation in other operations and facilitated the development of legitimate relations with NATO. Your efforts to strengthen the considerable peace-making potential of Ukraine in combination with efficient diplomacy transformed Ukraine into a remarkable guarantee of European security and stability", M. Vink stressed.
The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belgium stated that in 2002 it was B. Tarasiuk who put forward an initiative concerning the formation of the Parliamentary Committee on European Integration. "During your second mandate in the office of Foreign Affairs Minister, Ukraine joined the Plan of Actions with the European Union, entered a new level of intensive dialogue with NATO, and commenced negotiations with the EU regarding signing of the Agreement on Alleviation of Visa Regime and Readmission", the Belgian diplomat declared.
The Ambassador laid emphasis on the facilitation of negotiations on the Associative Agreements with the EU and ongoing negotiations on the apprehensible and rational Agreements concerning a free trade zone. "Due to the active participation of the members of the parliamentary Committee on European Intergation, your country would become closer to the EU for the benefit of your citizens", M. Vink stated.
Borys Tarasiuk focused on the fruitful and close relations between Ukraine and Belgium, and a specific place of this country "in the Ukrainian history." The Chairman of the Committee reminded, "It was Belgian funds, Belgian specialists and technologies that were used in Donbas region in the beginning of the last century, thus it started the mining and smelting industry in this region." He also emphasised that Belgium used to supply a great number of the Ukrainian cities with tram transport. "It gave impetus to the industrial strength of Ukraine and the former Russian Empire", B. Tarasiuk declared.