Yanukovych: Ukrainian economy needs at least $20 billion a year to shift to European standards

KYIV. Nov 27 (Interfax) – The Ukrainian economy needs at least $20 billion a year in order to shift to European standards, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said. “In all, approximately $160 billion are needed in the period until 2017,” the presidential press service quoted Yanukovych as telling Ukrainian television channels on Tuesday evening.

“This [association agreement] does not mean Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, and Ukraine will have no access to European funds. We won’t be there,” Yanukovych said.

Ukraine had been holding trade, economic and energy negotiations at various levels with various EU structures for a long time, he stressed.

“Every negotiation we have held aimed to put us in a good position. I mean, first of all, Ukraine has to have sufficient economic resources for implementing this agreement,” Yanukovych said.

Earlier Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov estimated the required expenditures at $165 billion within a decade, and the president cited expert estimates of $100-500 billion. Details of the estimates were not available.