KIEV, Oct. 16 – There are grounds to be optimistic about Ukraine's chances to become a member of the European Union, President Viktor Yushchenko said this in a statement following talks with Belgian Premier Herman Van Rompuy in Brussels on Friday.

Yushchenko stressed that the talks held in the frames of his two-day official visit to Belgium have shown that Ukraine has all the grounds to be optimistic about its chances for joining the European Union and NATO.