Brussels, 25/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - The association agreement between the European Union and Ukraine may not be finalised during the EU/Ukraine summit on 19 December, the EU delegation in Kiev has stated. Ambassador Jose Manuel Pinto Teixeira, cited by his press service, explained that the full text is not yet ready and that it would seem it is not possible to ensure finalisation coinciding with the summit. European diplomats have also told the daily, Kommersant, that finalisation is no longer possible this year. They explained that EU internal procedures take at least four to six weeks between the end of talks, which have not yet taken place, and the conclusion of the agreement.
Maja Kocijancic, the spokeswoman for EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton, did not confirm this. She told Agence Europe that technical negotiation is underway, that very few questions are still outstanding, and that it is hoped it will be possible to conclude the negotiations. It is too early, she said, to say what the outcome of the summit on 19 December will be. Kocijancic also pointed out that the EU wants to see progress made on Ukraine's political environment, for example in the field of judicial independence.
The summit on 19 December may even be cancelled, according to Boris Tarassiouk, who heads Ukraine's parliamentary committee on European integration. He said on Thursday 24 November that there might not be a summit and that the agreement may not be signed unless the Ukrainian authorities change their attitude towards the decline in democracy and the repression against opposition leaders, and especially against Yulia Tymoshenko. On Tuesday 22, during a visit to Kiev, the Lithuanian president, Dalia Grybauskaite, said the holding of the summit was subject to Yulia Tymoshenko's condemnation being “fairly” reviewed, as the verdict is considered by Europeans as being a political verdict. According to some media, the Ukrainian president may not attend the summit. (CG/transl.jl)