Ms. Tymoshenko feels Eastern Europe is “cast adrift.”She looks to France for leadership to push through a new free trade accord with Europe (and cash, too).Free trade is, of course, critical to the success of Ukraine, but free trade is more than just allowing foreign products to be sold domestically without unfair import duties.Free trade is also about making it easier to do business at home for both domestic and foreign companies.Kyiv must create a fair and level playing field for all businesses to compete.This job requires in the utmost transparency in markets and regulatory decisions and an end to the rampant corruption that stymies entry to the Ukrainian market for all but the largest and most powerful corporations — and those willing and able to pay bribes.
If Kyiv wants the rest of the world to take it seriously, it must first put its own house in order.The country remains sealed in a post-Perestroika cocoon awaiting rebirth and neither France nor any other country has an appropriate vision for breaking Ukraine out of its nascent state.A new vision for Ukraine must come from within via a new domestic debate.We at MBS only hope that vision will be one of neutrality in foreign relations and greater freedom for all Ukrainians. From our perspective, the enormous potential of Ukraine can only be unlocked by what Karl Popper called an “open society”that recreates a “country of laws and not of men” as Thomas Jefferson commanded of a new America.Such a reality must not be fantasy, but civil society in Ukraine has a long way to go.The first step is a new attitude from Ukrainian society and some sort of “born again” experience by leaders in Kyiv. Recent cuts in politicians’ wages are a start. Perhaps real reforms can only come from Ms. Tymoshenko’s successor as she clearly misses the boat here.Without a new debate, the future of Eastern Europe’s wobbling domino is lost in uncertainty. Although the situation may seem dire, there is hope. The world is looking for a new haven for freedom and liberty. Why not Ukraine?
Ms. Tymoshenko feels Eastern Europe is “cast adrift.”She looks to France for leadership to push through a new free trade accord with Europe (and cash, too).Free trade is, of course, critical to the success of Ukraine, but free trade is more than just allowing foreign products to be sold domestically without unfair import duties.Free trade is also about making it easier to do business at home for both domestic and foreign companies.Kyiv must create a fair and level playing field for all businesses to compete.This job requires in the utmost transparency in markets and regulatory decisions and an end to the rampant corruption that stymies entry to the Ukrainian market for all but the largest and most powerful corporations — and those willing and able to pay bribes.
If Kyiv wants the rest of the world to take it seriously, it must first put its own house in order.The country remains sealed in a post-Perestroika cocoon awaiting rebirth and neither France nor any other country has an appropriate vision for breaking Ukraine out of its nascent state.A new vision for Ukraine must come from within via a new domestic debate.We at MBS only hope that vision will be one of neutrality in foreign relations and greater freedom for all Ukrainians. From our perspective, the enormous potential of Ukraine can only be unlocked by what Karl Popper called an “open society”that recreates a “country of laws and not of men” as Thomas Jefferson commanded of a new America.Such a reality must not be fantasy, but civil society in Ukraine has a long way to go.The first step is a new attitude from Ukrainian society and some sort of “born again” experience by leaders in Kyiv. Recent cuts in politicians’ wages are a start. Perhaps real reforms can only come from Ms. Tymoshenko’s successor as she clearly misses the boat here.Without a new debate, the future of Eastern Europe’s wobbling domino is lost in uncertainty. Although the situation may seem dire, there is hope. The world is looking for a new haven for freedom and liberty. Why not Ukraine?
Ms. Tymoshenko feels Eastern Europe is “cast adrift.”She looks to France for leadership to push through a new free trade accord with Europe (and cash, too).Free trade is, of course, critical to the success of Ukraine, but free trade is more than just allowing foreign products to be sold domestically without unfair import duties.Free trade is also about making it easier to do business at home for both domestic and foreign companies.Kyiv must create a fair and level playing field for all businesses to compete.This job requires in the utmost transparency in markets and regulatory decisions and an end to the rampant corruption that stymies entry to the Ukrainian market for all but the largest and most powerful corporations — and those willing and able to pay bribes.
If Kyiv wants the rest of the world to take it seriously, it must first put its own house in order.The country remains sealed in a post-Perestroika cocoon awaiting rebirth and neither France nor any other country has an appropriate vision for breaking Ukraine out of its nascent state.A new vision for Ukraine must come from within via a new domestic debate.We at MBS only hope that vision will be one of neutrality in foreign relations and greater freedom for all Ukrainians. From our perspective, the enormous potential of Ukraine can only be unlocked by what Karl Popper called an “open society”that recreates a “country of laws and not of men” as Thomas Jefferson commanded of a new America.Such a reality must not be fantasy, but civil society in Ukraine has a long way to go.The first step is a new attitude from Ukrainian society and some sort of “born again” experience by leaders in Kyiv. Recent cuts in politicians’ wages are a start. Perhaps real reforms can only come from Ms. Tymoshenko’s successor as she clearly misses the boat here.Without a new debate, the future of Eastern Europe’s wobbling domino is lost in uncertainty. Although the situation may seem dire, there is hope. The world is looking for a new haven for freedom and liberty. Why not Ukraine?
