EU Pledges to Support Ukraine's European Aspirations

European Commission President Romano Prodi, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana reassured Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma in Yalta on 7 October that the expanded EU will support Ukraine's reforms oriented toward European integration, Ukrainian and international media reported. "We want your country to be fully integrated into the European Union one day," Berlusconi, who is chairing the rotating EU Presidency, said at a news conference. "Without a doubt Ukraine is a European country, and we hope Ukraine will move quickly through the necessary stages," he added, noting that these stages mean obtaining World Trade Organization membership, achieving market-economy status, joining the EU free-trade zone, and gaining EU associate membership. "I admit quite openly that Ukraine is not ready for full-fledged EU membership by practically all criteria, but we are pursuing the ambitious task of achieving this goal," Kuchma said.