It's a very good topic. On the topic of energy, a lot of things are involved in Ukraine and Europe. Those who control the pipeline control a lot of things in Europe. So on the important shale gas projects, there are clearly some environmental and other concerns. I will not get into the technical matters here, but should Ukraine gain at least a certain degree of independence, that would be a very good thing. It would give Ukraine leverage to negotiate with Russia.
The problem is that with the current regime in Ukraine, I haven't seen anything concrete beyond lip service to attract those investments and give them a good environment in which to invest and do business. Hopefully that will change.
If you look at the question of energy, Russia has been trying very hard to take control of the Ukrainian pipeline and the whole energy-related situation in Ukraine. They understand that not only do they control Ukraine, they also control Europe to a certain degree.
I believe the European Union, the European states, have been rather passive on this. I'm not talking here from a Ukrainian or a Canadian standpoint. But I believe that European states, our allies, should be more aggressive in pursuing their own interests and counting Ukraine into their geopolitical interests. It shouldn't be just Germany doing straight dealings with Russia. They should see the benefit of Ukraine also playing a very important role.
If Europe were to play a more important role in the energy independence of Ukraine, it would be beneficial to Europe itself to be less dependent on Russia and control the situation better. That in turn would have a positive effect on the proactive stance of Ukraine, the democratic process in Ukraine, and so on. In this regard there should be more emphasis on European states being more proactive in this and not letting Russia control the situation, which has been the case most of the time.
