Brussels, 25/11/2013 (Agence Europe) - In a joint press release on Monday 25 November, President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso and President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy stated that the offer of signing an “unprecedented” association agreement and “deep and comprehensive” free-trade agreement with Ukraine was “still on the table” - four days after the Ukrainian government decided to suspend its preparations for these agreements on Thursday 21 November (see EUROPE 10968).
“This requires the necessary political will by the Ukrainian leadership, determined action and tangible progress on the conditions set out in December 2012”, said Barroso and Van Rompuy, adding that a great deal of progress has already been made. “The EU stands ready to be more open and more supportive to those who are willing to engage in reforms and modernisation”, they added.
On 23 November, Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Füle said that the EU will be ready to resume the preparations for signing the association agreement as soon as Ukraine is ready to resume its path towards political association and economic integration with the EU. In Füle's opinion, the door for signing the association agreement remains open for the future, once the conditions have been met. The EU's commitment to take relations between the EU and Ukraine to a new level remains firm, Füle added in an article in the Ukrainian weekly newspaper Zerkalo nedelyi.
“Aware” of the pressure felt by Ukraine, Barroso and Van Rompuy believe that “the short-term considerations should not override the long-term benefits that this partnership would bring”. “The European Union will not force Ukraine, or any other partner, to choose between the European Union or any other regional entity. It is up to Ukraine to freely decide what kind of engagement they seek with the European Union”, they added. Barroso and Van Rompuy therefore “strongly” disapprove of Russia's position and its measures, and the two leaders recall again that closer relations with the EU do not come at the expense of relations with other partners. The association and free-trade agreements “are opportunities to accompany our common neighbours towards modern, prosperous and rule-based democracies”, Barroso and Van Rompuy stated.
In Barroso and Van Rompuy's view, the Eastern Partnership summit, which will take place in Vilnius on Thursday 28 and Friday 29 November, will be an “important moment to take stock of the situation and take forward the relations with our Eastern partners”.
100,000 Ukrainians in the street. Between 20,000 and 100,000 Ukrainians protested in Kiev on 23 November against their government's decision to suspend preparation of the association agreement with the EU, and they demonstrated their pro-EU feeling. Barroso and Van Rompuy said that the Ukrainian citizens had again shown in recent days that they fully understand and embrace the historic nature of European association.
In contrast, the union of Ukrainian industrialists and business people supports the decision to suspend the agreements. By signing the “association agreement unwisely, Ukraine could pay too dearly in the form of cutting production, business closures and lost jobs”, the union states (our translation). While, in its press release of 23 November, the union urges the Ukrainian government to take action to re-establish and increase the volume of economic, trade and industrial action with Russia and the CIS countries, the union nevertheless calls for the policy of European integration not to be limited. (CG/transl.fl)