ROBERT SIEGEL, host:
Ukraine came one small step closer today to membership in the European Union. At a meeting in Paris, EU leaders offered the country an association agreement. And if that sounds vague, that's because it is. It only implies possible future membership. The Ukrainians had been pressing for more than symbolic gestures, especially as Russia tries to roll back western influence among its neighbors. NPR's Anne Garrels reports from the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.
ANNE GARRELS: Alex Swishberg (ph), an American lawyer with Ukrainian roots, set up shop in Kiev 17 years ago, just after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Ukraine, the size of France, had just become an independent country, and it was a bleak place.
Mr. ALEX SWISHBERG (Ukranian Lawyer): There was nothing. There was darkness, pitch darkness, and no restaurants. I was like the only foreigner in the city of Kiev, it seemed.
GARRELS: Kiev's downtown is now charming, full of restored architectural gems, name brand stores, and high-end restaurants. Local mafias no longer shake down businesses. In 2004, Ukrainians rejected authoritarian rule in what was called the Orange Revolution. But now, it's shaken by political chaos and with this, government corruption. Alex Swishberg points to lines of shiny Bentleys and Jaguars parked outside the Decadence Club.
Mr. SWISHBERG: Now, the important thing to notice, nobody here gives loans for cars. So whatever cars you see are bought for in cash. This is a member of parliament. That's his license plate, 12-cylinder Mercedes Brabus Special Edition. Really, really nice. Oh, excuse me. Mercedes is about to run you over. No joke.
GARRELS: The gap between the wealthy, usually with close ties to the government, and the rest of the population is huge. Doctors make 300 dollars a month, teachers perhaps 200.
Mr. SERGEI MARCAPOLSKI (Kiev Resident): (Russian spoken)
GARRELS: In a nearby underpass, street cleaner Sergei Marcapolski (ph) says his rent outstrips to 16 dollars he makes a day. And inflation now tops 20 percent, but he remains optimistic one day Ukraine will be part of Europe and like Europe. 19-year-old university student Maria Huchalo (ph) also hopes her country will soon be part of Europe and as she says, more civilized.
Ms. MARIA HUCHALO (Kiev Resident): It's pretty old for terrible corruption. Our greatest problem is that those who are in charge of our country don't actually care about us ordinary people so...
GARRELS: The latest political crisis saw the collapse last week of a shaky coalition between President Viktor Yushchenco and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Yuraslav Kinach (ph), a Canadian banker and consultant, says this will yet again delay legislation necessary for investment and greater integration with the west.
Mr. YURASLAV KINACH (Kiev Resident): Laws on private ownership, while they exist, they are cumbersome and complex, very often inconsistent. If you are going to invest large amounts of money, you want certainty that, you know, no one will upset your contract or your rights.
GARRELS: Kinach says political conflict plays into the hands of those who want to keep Ukraine out of Europe. There are some in Europe who were leery of expanding the European Union beyond its already unwieldy 27 members. There are others who don't want to upset Russia by embracing Ukraine. Western politicians like Boris Tarashiuk (ph) argue, for all Ukraine's problems, it is moving forward, and he warns Europe against letting Russia dictate Ukraine's future.
Mr. BORIS TARASHIUK (European Politician): There is no common foreign and security policy in the European Union, and this is the reason for Russia to try to divide the E.U. member states like the former Soviet Union used to do.
GARRELS: Disappointed with today's E.U. Summit, political scientist Olachsei Garan (ph) says Ukraine needs firm promises about the future.
Mr. OLACHSEI GARAN (Political Scientist): So we understand that we are not ready for E.U. accession right now. But what we need is to say that, OK, when you will qualify, you will be included when you will qualify for that.
GARRELS: While acknowledging Ukraine is sometimes a difficult partner, Garan asks what Europe really would prefer, Ukraine's political mess, what he calls real democracy in the making, or the managed democracy that has evolved in Vladimir Putin's Russia. Anne Garrels, NPR News, Kiev. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
