EU-Ukraine summit opens today in Kyiv

Today European Union leaders will meet with Ukrainian politicians in Kyiv for their annual EU-Ukraine summit. The EU delegation is headed by EU President Jose Manuel-Barroso and Commissioner for Trade and European Neighborhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner. The Ukrainian delegation will be led by President Viktor Yushchenko. According to an EU press release, main topics for discussion include climate change, the global financial crisis and energy security. EU leaders said they planned to call on Ukraine to renew reform efforts. Brad Wells: We do not expect any big news to come out of the summit today – neither any stronger signal from the EU on potential prospects for European integration for Ukraine or on other fronts such as an association agreement or visa programs, despite recent promises from Ukrainian politicians. Other topics sure to come up are gas relations with Russia, and Ukraine’s cooperation with IFIs including the International Monetary Fund. The EU did say that an agreement would be signed to establish the European Investment Bank in Ukraine.