Ambassadors to the European Union member states and the head of the EC delegation in Ukraine are touring Crimea to study the social and economic situation in the autonomous republic and to present a joint cooperation initiative in Crimea.
This initiative was put forth by the European Commission and a number of the EU states concerned and its goal is “to coordinate an approach in order to facilitate the social and economic development of Crimea,” German Ambassador to Ukraine Hans-Jurgen Heimsoeth said at a press conference in Simferopol on Friday.
The group of the ambassadors touring Crimea consists of the heads of the diplomatic missions of Finland, Hungary, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to Ukraine Jose Manuel Pinto Teixeira.
The EC and the EU member states will assess Crimea’s needs and develop relevant action programs. In particular, they will work out steps aimed at the development of the peninsular institutions, decentralized cooperation with the civil society, the encouragement of investment and the program of cooperation with cities and regions of the European Union and the development of social and cultural relations between the nations.
The EC plans to continue assisting Crimea in regional development, whereas some EU countries are ready to focus on such fields as economic development (the United Kingdom), environmental protection (Sweden), social infrastructure and economic development (Germany), and civil society (the Netherlands). Other EU member states are still considering prospects for participation in this project.
The German ambassador to Ukraine said that the EU member states’ objective is to bring Crimea closer to the European Union. “Crimea is a very important area of the Black Sea region, and as several countries of that region have already become EU members, the autonomous republic has become the EU’s closest neighbor,” he said.
Besides, the EU would like to open information centers on the peninsula, the ambassador said. “This will allow Crimean residents to get direct access to knowledge and European culture,” he said.
