Strasbourg, 14/06/2012 (Agence Europe) - European Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Commissioner Stefan Füle said on Thursday 14 June that “the European Union no longer wants explanations from Ukraine, it wants visible action, and in particular in three areas: elections, addressing the problem of selective justice and accelerating reforms”. Addressing the EU-Ukraine Parliamentary Cooperation Committee, Füle stated that “the European Union has ambitious plans for its relations with Ukraine and wants traction in them, not distractions”. He added that the two parties are at a critical moment in their relations and that this is not the time for a “pause”. “We believe it is more important than ever to maintain a very focused and continuous dialogue with Kiev. But I would prefer to spend my time talking about how to speed up reforms and how to support reforms, rather than fire-fighting and reacting to negative news stories which put Ukraine on the front pages but not in the way we would like to see”, he said.
He again made clear the EU's willingness to sign an association agreement with Ukraine as that would pave the way for a modernisation programme. “It would be good for Ukraine, good for the European Union, and good for the Eastern Partnership”, he argued, noting that, for this, Ukraine must demonstrate its commitment to European democratic values and principles. Füle stated, too, that there are other sectoral areas where technical work is continuing in the background. These include education, civil society support, transport, environment and visa liberalisation. “This work is all the more valuable because it keeps the European Union-Ukraine relationship alive and dynamic”, he stated. (CG/transl.rt)