In an exclusive interview with EUROPE, Ukraine's Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze said on Monday 7 November that not ratifying the association agreement between the EU and Ukraine, which is currently being held up by the Netherlands, would be “a betrayal”.
“If there is no ratification, that would mean for us a betrayal”, she said, pointing out that it had been the failure by former president Viktor Yanukovych to sign the agreement that had sparked the bloodshed in Maidan Square, and that Russia had done all in its power to prevent any such agreement. The agreement has “a highly symbolic significance in addition to being a very practical instrument for reform and change”, she added. She said: “Wanting to believe such a possibility (non-ratification) is not an option”. “Otherwise it will have disastrous consequences, not only for Ukraine, but also for the stability and security of the eastern borders of the EU in the long term”, she stated.
She hoped that the extra time Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has given himself (see EUROPE 11658) will produce a compromise acceptable to all parties. She said that Ukrainian ministers and parliamentarians were in contact with their Dutch counterparts to try to reach a form of words acceptable to all. “We have a few more weeks to try to see how to address the concerns that we have, the promises that the EU has made thus far and the (I hope objective) concerns – if concerns can be objective – of the Dutch citizens”, the minister stated, indicating that much of what was said during the referendum campaign was far from what is actually in the association agreement. “We found ourselves hostage to the discussion”, which was not necessarily about Ukraine or the association agreement, she added. In her view, the signing of the agreement with Canada (CETA) brought fresh optimism that a solution can be found. “When everyone is mobilised and understands the consequences and sees the challenge, then there is the possibility that a solution will be found … which creates a window of opportunity to find a positive and possible solution for ratification”, she argued.
A further area of disappointment for Ukraine is the failure to deliver visa liberalisation, even though the country has met the 144 conditions required. Klympush-Tsintsadze expressed frustration that progress on this issue was halted because of an internal EU procedure – the trialogue on the mechanism on the suspension of the visa requirement for third countries. She hoped that the same solution can be found for her country as for Georgia at the start of October: the Council can negotiate with the European Parliament on visa liberalisation, taking the view that “the entry into force of visa liberalisation for Georgia should be at the same time as the entry into force of the new ‘suspension mechanism’” (see EUROPE 11639). And while some member states are worried about the level of corruption, the minister highlighted the great strides her country has made over the last two and a half years, stating that Ukraine started from nothing in the fight against corruption and that it took time to put everything into effect.
Turning to the conflict in the east of Ukraine, the minister pointed out that Russia was still not keeping to its commitments. She stressed that security was the priority and that what was needed was, among other things, a real, lasting ceasefire, the withdrawal of heavy weapons, a guarantee of access for the OSCE observation mission to all the territory of Eastern Ukraine, management of the internationally recognised border and a solution to humanitarian issues, including the release of prisoners before political discussions, such as on elections in the east of Ukraine, can begin. Klympush-Tsintsadze also called for sanctions against Russia to be extended by a year, rather than by three months. This, she argued, would bring detachment from certain discussions and offer the possibility of focusing on real results. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)