Brussels, 11/10/2011 (Agence Europe) - Catherine Ashton, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, has announced that the European Union would be reflecting on its policy towards Kiev, further to the 7-year prison sentence that has been imposed on the former prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, for abuse of power. “The way the Ukrainian authorities will generally respect universal values and rule of law, and specifically how they will handle these cases, risks having profound implications for the EU-Ukraine bilateral relationship, including for the conclusion of the Association Agreement, our political dialogue and our co-operation more broadly”, Catherine Ashton states in a press release, in which the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, is associated.
Several MEPs have questioned the signing of an association agreement between Ukraine and the EU. German MEP (EPP) Michael Gahler has announced: “We must not sacrifice our European values for greater cooperation or even political association”. Konstantin Grichchenko, the Ukrainian foreign minister, for his part, who was received on Tuesday by the European Parliament foreign affairs committee (AFET), underlined that the association agreement is important for his country and that it is supported not only by the government but also by the opposition. He stressed that even Yulia Tymoshenko was in favour of it. He was backed by Polish MEPs for whom the two elements - trial and agreement - are not linked.
Without wishing to condemn the verdict, Ashton stated the EU is “deeply disappointed with the verdict of the Pechesrsk District Court in Ukraine”, adding that “the verdict comes after a trial which did not respect the international standards as regards fair, transparent and independent legal process”. She went on: “This unfortunately confirms that justice is being applied selectively in politically motivated prosecutions of the leaders of the opposition and members of the former government”. MEPs also criticised the trial. Joseph Daul of France, who heads the EPP Group, underlined that the conditions in which the trial was held were deplorable, including the fact that the EU envoy encountered great difficulties when requesting entry to the court. According to Elmar Brok (EPP, Germany), EU diplomats were banned by the judge from gaining access to the court. Brok described such methods as “extremely strange”. The secretary general of the Council of Europe, Thorbjorn Jagland, declared for his part that, in a democracy, the judgement on political decisions must be left to the Parliament and the electorate, and not the courts.
Yulia Tymoshenko was found guilty of having sealed gas agreements in 2009 with Russia, described as unfavourable for Ukraine, without the authorisation of the government of which she was then the leader. Her prison sentence comes with a ban on holding any official function for three years. She must also pay the equivalent of €138 million to Naftogaz to reimburse the losses caused by the contracts signed.
After the verdict had been delivered, Tymoshenko compared her sentence to the purges carried out by Stalin in 1937, saying that she would appeal. “We shall have to fight to defend our reputation before European bodies. We must be strong and defend Ukraine against authoritarianism and the lack of freedom”, she said. The EU foreign policy chief said the “EU urges the competent Ukrainian authorities to ensure a fair, transparent and impartial process in any appeal”.
The Ukrainian foreign minister did not wish to comment on the verdict, pointing out that it was not up to him to assess decisions made by the court. He did, however, say that, in Ukraine, “no-one should have special treatment by a court. Ms Tymoshenko was treated for criminal behaviour and was found guilty. Our country was damaged by decisions that she had no right to take”. He also said his country was working towards reform of the criminal code. The secretary of the Council of Europe, Thorbjorn Jagland, underlined that he hoped the changes recently proposed to the criminal code in Ukraine would make such trials impossible in the future. Jerzy Buzek also trusts the criminal code will be rapidly amended. “Article 365, which was used against Tymoshenko, gives rise to particular concern”, he said. According to a number of Ukrainian analysts, Viktor Yanukovich's regime could decriminalise the article on which Tymoshenko was condemned, which would allow her to be released and would keep the European Union sweet.
Commenting on the verdict in the Tymoshenko trial, Nicole Kiil-Nielsen (Greens/EFA, France) said: “This politically-motivated ruling is a backwards step for the rule of law in Ukraine and a blow to EU-Ukraine rapprochement. Nobody should be under any illusions that this court case was designed to scupper the prospects of the political opposition in Ukraine ahead of next year's parliamentary elections. Even if the ruling is subsequently overturned, this episode has damaged the credibility of the Ukrainian government”. Her group said: “While the Greens are in favour of concluding an EU-Ukraine association agreement, guaranteeing the rule of law and making democratic progress is a precondition for this. Today's ruling is clearly a blow to this end”. (CG/DD/stag/transl.jl)