Brussels, 22/11/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 21 November, the European Commission, EU member states and MEPs lined up to express disappointment at the Ukrainian government's decision to suspend preparations for signing an association and a free-trade area agreement with the European Union (see EUROPE 10968) and criticised Russia for putting pressure on Kiev. Catherine Ashton said it was disappointing not only for the EU, but also for the people of Ukraine. She said the EU believed that the future of Ukraine lay in strong relations with the EU and was firmly committed to its pledge to the people of Ukraine, who would be the major beneficiaries of the agreement. Her spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said that the EU wanted political association and economic integration with Ukraine and hoped that, because it would be in its interest, Ukraine would attend the Vilnius Summit at the end of the month. She said that cooperation meant more than the association agreement.
Ukraine is moving away from the EU. Poland's foreign minister said its decision to suspend preparations on an association agreement risked freezing the process of Ukraine's moving closer to the EU for an indeterminate time and would lead to irreversible losses for modernisation, reform and democracy in the country. There was also the risk of losing what had been gained in the long process of preparing for signing the agreement. Pat Cox and Aleksander Kwasniewski of the EP's mission said this “time out” called by the Ukrainian authorities is likely to last for a long time and, if the process is ever renewed, this decision would make it more complicated.
Fingers pointed at Russia
The EU accuses Russia of being responsible for Ukraine's U-turn. Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle said it was difficult to ignore the recent unjustified trade measuress against Ukraine and the impact these had on the country's decision. Cox and Kwasniewski said the Ukrainian prime minister had mentioned the serious effect on the economy and the greatly increased pressure from Russia over recent weeks. Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt said that the Ukrainian government was bowing very low to the Kremlin and the policy of strong-arm pressure clearly works. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, brushed aside the idea of Russian pressure on Ukraine, saying that it was the EU that was using threats, pressure and blackmail against Kiev. Ukraine is not a prize to be won, said Kocijancic.
Trilateral dialogue with Russia 'not an option'
Lithuanian foreign minister Linas Linkevicius warned that the Ukrainian proposal of three-way dialogue with the EU and Russia was unprecedented and not an option. He said that an EU proposal for a bilateral association is on the table and he did not see what role other countries could play in the process. Avoiding a direct answer to the question, Kocijancic said that the association agreement was a bilateral agreement between the EU and Ukraine and Russia was a strategic partner with which there are regular strategic consultations and it was also a very important trading partner. She said the EU wanted dialogue and consultation, but the association agreement follows a certain logic, as do the EU's relations with Russia.
In Kiev, the Ukrainian prime minister said that the decision was dictated exclusively by economics and did not challenge the strategy of moving towards Europe. The Ukrainian opposition is calling demonstrations against the decision. (CG/transl.fl)