Ukraine′s EU trade deal ′will be good′ for arts and culture

by Martin Banks

Igor Yankovski has urged Ukrainian and EU leaders to sign a key trade deal later this month, saying it will mark a "hugely historic" landmark in relations between the two sides.

Barring any last minute hiccups, the Association Agreement is expected to be agreed at a summit in Vilnius on 28 and 29 November.

Most attention in the run-up to the summit has focused on the potential trade and economic benefits to the EU and Ukraine if the deal is signed.

A less well-known fact is that the deal, if agreed, will also lead to greatly enhanced cooperation between the two sides in other areas, for example in the arts and culture.

As important as the agreement is, Yankovski also believes it is equally important to start building a "better understanding" between his homeland and Europe.

That is why he has launched a Foundation which aims to support young talent and promote cultural dialogue between the EU and Ukraine.

He is also putting his money where his mouth is, with a commitment to plough an estimated €2.25m into various projects aimed at developing mutual understanding.

After studying financial affairs in New York, Yankovski joined the family fertilizer business - one of the biggest of its kind in Ukraine.

This was recently sold and he says he is now "at the right age" to channel his wealth and energy into his new venture.

A recent speech at the British School in Budapest, where his son is a pupil, gave him the idea.

He said, "The speech was about Ukraine and even the teacher in my son's class seemed to have very little knowledge about Ukraine. He didn´t know, for instance, that Ukraine is geographically the centre of Europe or that we have the best soil in the world.

"This is an international school with a multi-national student base so what does that tell you about what people know about my homeland?

"It tells me that there is a gaping information deficit, a void, that needs to be filled if we are to cultivate a better understanding of each other´s cultures."

As part of the Foundation´s launch, Yankovski was at the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday to host an exhibition of paintings by Ukrainian children.

The exhibition, which is entitled "Ukraine through children´s eyes," was the subject of a lot of attention from MEPs and others.

Yankovski says that it is only through such cultural exchanges that Europeans and Ukrainians can hope to cultivate mutual understanding.

The event is timely as it comes on the eve of the Vilnius summit at the end of this month where Ukraine is due to sign an Association Agreement with the European Union, which will cement its political and economic ties with Europe while formalizing its turn away from Moscow.

For months, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been fuming for over the agreement, holding several rounds of talks with his Ukrainian counterpart, Viktor Yanukovych, to convince him to join a customs and trade union with Russia instead.

In August, after Yanukovych rebuffed another one of Putin’s overtures, Russia even blocked all Ukrainian goods coming across the border, demonstrating the kinds of sanctions Russia can use to punish Ukraine for its disloyalty. But it hasn’t worked. Kiev still seems intent on going ahead with the deal.

For Yankovski that would be a vindication.

He told European Business Review that he is committed to trying to push his country westward.

"I love Russia, its language and history and culture. My mother was Russian. But this does not mean that we Ukrainians and Russians are the same.

"I spend a lot of my time explaining to people, including my many Russian friends, that we are, in fact, different. We have different cultures, a different history."

But westernizing the electorate in Ukraine has also proven to be difficult.

A survey conducted last month by Deutsche Welle found that only half of Ukrainians support the agreement with the EU, while a third of the respondents rejected it outright. Many voters in the eastern half of Ukraine are still nostalgic for their Soviet brotherhood with Russia, whose language, culture and politics they still tend to emulate.

But Yankovski is firmly rooted in the pro-EU camp, saying that Ukraine´s long-term future, politically, economically and - just as important - culturally, lies with Europe.

He also believes that the world of art and culture can be an important catalyst to help overcome perceived differences, such as those at present between the EU and Ukraine concerning the country´s imprisoned former PM Yulia Tymoshenko.

Some insist that the agreement cannot be signed this month unless she is freed but Yankovski believes that, irrespective of what happens in Vilnius, the time is ripe to forge greater relations between his homeland and Europe.

He said, "The aim of the Foundation is to help showcase the amazing pool of talent we have in Ukraine. Internationally, I have to admit that very little is known about this which is a great shame.

"This young talent needs the chance to cultivate their skills, and that includes, for instance, coming to Europe to show their work in art galleries and places like the European Parliament.

"That is why I plan to fund scholarships to help young Ukrainians do this. It is the only way Europeans can get a better idea of who we Ukrainians are and what we're about."

He added, "I travel a lot and am always struck at how little is known in Europe about Ukraine."

The stated goal of his Foundation is to dislodge that mentality and address what he says feels is a shortage of positive news about Ukraine.

"The Foundation may be based in Ukraine but that does not mean it is there to help only Ukrainian people. I want to reach out to as many people as possible."

He says that after Ukraine´s Orange Revolution, public expectations were high of a better mutual understanding quickly growing between his countrymen and those in Europe.

But he says, "Nothing on this front has really changed. The old Soviet Union may have collapsed and Ukraine is still there but, sadly, this mentality still exists. We may be a relatively new country but we have an old history and it would be good if non-Ukrainians had a better knowledge and understanding of this.

"At present I would characterize Europe´s relationship with Ukraine by a complete lack of understanding on both sides.

"I am not a politician and do not even belong to a political party. But that recent experience at the British School told me that, even before there is any closer political and economic integration, we need to know more about each other´s culture.

"We are a civilized country but there is this information void. So now, with the EU Association Agreement to be signed shortly, the exhibition this week and others like it offer a chance for Ukraine to assert herself as a self-sufficient subject in the European space."

He went on, "The exhibition was well attended and all that united visitors was an interest in Ukraine. We must only hope now that this interest will result in a positive attitude of Europeans to us. For, moving towards Europe, Ukraine is searching, as a novice businessman would, for a reliable partner to launch a business. But, before starting a successful enterprise, partners ought to come to know about one another – who they are, what values they cherish, and what roots they have.

"To learn to speak in the same language with Europe in general and each of its countries in particular is also a challenge for business which is aware of its role as Ukraine’s investment and culture lobbyist on the international arena."

He says his message to leaders converging on Vilnius later this month will be to sign the agreement. Failure to do so, he says, would be a "retrograde" step and could possibly move Ukraine back towards Moscow.

"It is a historic moment and,contrary to what many think, it´s not just about trade but art and culture too. Whatever happens, though, we have a new generation in Ukraine, born since the country became independent, and it is these people we should focus on. They think differently about all sorts of things and I want to play some small part in opening their minds further - and those of Europeans."