Four central European nations offer support to Ukraine in reforms

Xinhua

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Four central European countries of Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland stand ready to assist Ukraine with implementing its major reforms, Slovak foreign minister Miroslav Lajcak announced here Tuesday.

"We offer our assistance and our experience to Ukraine in implementing reforms," Lajcak told a news briefing after his meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

According to Lajcak, Slovakia will help Ukraine speed up its energy sector reform, while Poland will assist in reforming local administration and implementing decentralization plan. The Czech Republic will provide Kiev with advice on reforming civil society, education and media, and Hungary will share its experience with Ukraine on economic reforms and implementation of free trade area with the European Union.

Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland have formed an alliance commonly known as the Visegrad Four or the Visegrad Group. They all joined the European Union on May 1, 2004.

Although the Visegrad Four countries are committed to assist Kiev, the Ukrainian government itself has to demonstrate strong political will to take the steps required for reforms, Lajcak stressed.

"I want to assure you of our support, but I want to emphasize that nobody will be able to carry out reforms, but yourselves," he said.

Lajcak, along with his Czech counterpart Lubomir Zaoralek, Polish foreign minister Grzegorz Schetyna and Hungarian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Laszlo Szabo, arrived in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, earlier Tuesday for a working visit. Enditem