Strasbourg, 13/12/2011 (Agence Europe) - Neighbourhood Policy Commissioner Stefan Füle was in Ukraine on 12-13 December. The purpose of his visit was to prepare the ground for the EU-Ukraine summit on 19 December, where there are a number of important issues to be discussed both in current EU-Ukraine relations and in relation to our longer-term goal of political association and economic integration “for which the negotiations on the association agreement should be finalised”, he said on 13 December.
In his meetings with President Viktor Yanukovich, Deputy Prime Minister Andriy Klyuyev and Foreign Minister Kostyanyn Gryschenko, he stated that “the association agreement is the best prospect for Ukrainian citizens to be assured of a future based on European values and standards”.
The commissioner and his hosts also had “useful exchanges” on issues related to economic governance and on the need to improve the business environment, including on the need for Ukraine to secure a fair and market-oriented price for gas and to ensure full compliance with its commitments and obligations as a member of the Energy Community. Füle made it clear that the EU is “concerned” about the lack of progress on a number of “critical” reforms in Ukraine, “including those in the constitutional and judicial spheres” on which “substantial discussions” took place. “I also reiterated our serious concern over recent cases of selective justice in Ukraine, including the cases of Yulia Tymoshenko and others”, he said.
The commissioner, indeed, had the opportunity of a private conversation with former prime minister Tymoshenko about her health and about the developments in her case. He assured her that the EU would continue to keep a close eye on her appeal and would insist upon the need for her to “benefit from all of her rights to defend herself in a fair process”. During their conversation, Tymoshenko called for the rapid conclusion of the association agreement. (CG/transl.rt)