VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO, the freshly sworn-in President of Ukraine, has increased the pressure on the EU to open its doors by saying that it is essential to start entry negotiations in 2007. Membership was just a question of time, he declared in an interview with The Times.

He pushed the case for early entry as he made his first appearance on the world stage since sweeping to office last month, receiving a hero’s welcome from political and business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.

President Yushchenko has made joining the EU his top political priority in order to entrench democracy and free markets in his corrupt and politically unstable state.

However, he has had a cold reception from the EU, with many members worried about letting such a backward country into the union so soon after admitting eight other former Communist nations in May.

Surrounded by tight security in a hotel room in the ski resort of Davos, President Yushchenko told The Times that he was committed to a three-year reform programme already agreed with Brussels, aimed at putting Ukraine — the largest country wholly in Europe — on the path to Western-style democracy. He insisted that as soon as the reforms were completed, he wanted to start official entry talks to join the EU.

“We think it very essential that the joint three-year EU-Ukraine action plan leads to the launch of membership negotiations in 2007,” he said.

Before the interview, he received a standing ovation at the economic forum as he pleaded to the world leaders for help: “My country has long been a wise, strong but sleeping elephant. It is waking today — democracy opens the way to implementing its potential to achieving its goals. Please, help Ukraine — and quite shortly, you’ll see a beautiful nation.”

He received the backing of his neighbour Poland, whose President Kwasniewski insisted that there was no argument against Ukrainian membership: “The question is of time, of procedures, but not why or if.”

However, the European Commission President, José Manuel Barroso, stuck to the EU’s official position that membership was not on the agenda. After their first meeting, he deliberately dampened expectations, saying that “the agenda now is the neighbourhood policy”, which applies to all countries that border the EU.

President Yushchenko nevertheless remained confident. “I am sure that a lot of things will change in the European position,” he told The Times. “The question of membership is just a matter of time.”

He also insisted that his reforms would go ahead irrespective of EU membership. “The policy we are shaping now is not for the EU. This is the policy we are shaping for our nation. We want freedom of speech and rule of law, we want democratic values to be respected, we want the free and competitive market to work. We need those things irrespective of whether we join the EU.”

He used his visit to the economic forum to forge links with the international community in a blizzard of meetings with other heads of government, including Gerhard Shröder of Germany, and his first meeting since his victory with Senhor Barroso.

He also held met leaders of the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organisation, which he wants to join in November, and urged businessmen to invest in his country. Mr Yushchenko has announced plans to balance the budget, regularise the huge black market, start a privatisation programme and raise more income from big state corporations such as rail, oil and gas. Pleading for investment, he said: “We want to stretch out our hand to business. We will be reducing taxes. We will not prosecute business. You will see this government is a partner to business.”

Membership of the World Trade Organisation would help to integrate Ukraine into the global economy, reducing barriers for its imports and exports. “There is still a lot of work that needs to be done, but we are sure that by the autumn we will accomplish it,” he said.

The President’s face remains shockingly scarred from dioxin poisoning and, while he tries to keep in good health with a special diet, his condition is permanent and untreatable. He is presumed to have been the victim of an assassination attempt by a political rival and the Ukrainian prosecutor-general said that he had made progress in indentifying who was responsible.

Mr Yushchenko’s visit to Switzerland completes a hectic tour of Europe, which also included a visit to Moscow — where he says he was treated as an equal by President Putin, who had activly campaigned for his election rival — and attending the Auschwitz commemorations in Poland. He also intends to visit London within the next six months.

A week on the move

January 23: Kiev, inaugurated as President. Met Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, who promised America’s support for his leadership

January 24: Moscow, for Yushchenko’s first foreign trip as President, to smooth relations with President Putin of Russia

January 25: Strasbourg, to deliver a speech to the Council of Europe

January 27: Cracow, for the 60th anniversary of the Auschwitz liberation. Met Dick Cheney, the US Vice-President, and 44 other high-profile politicians

January 28: Davos, for the World Economic Forum. Received a standing ovation after addressing world leaders and Bill Gates, the Microsoft billionaire

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