EU to relax Association Agreement conditions

European Union (EU) leaders will relax the requirements for its Association Agreement with Ukraine, the Kommersant-Ukrayina newspaper reported Dec. 10, citing anonymous EU officials. EU ministers decided to agree with the assertions of Ukrainian authorities that the source of problems in conducting elections was the imperfect election legislation. The European Commission will demand a new Election Code to include input from the opposition. Progress made in judicial reforms will determine the evaluation of reforms, sources said. As for a third key issue, EU leaders are expecting the Ukrainian government will use rulings from the European Court for Human Rights to review the convictions of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and former Internal Affairs Minister Yuriy Lutsenko. The foreign ministers of EU member-states are meeting today to determine the concrete conditions of the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement, according to press reports. The issue for the EU is not whether to sign the agreement, but when in 2013, sources said.

Zenon Zawada: The reported comments confirm a strategic decision by EU leadership to overlook the substandard Oct. 28 parliamentary elections in favor of engaging the Ukrainian government, which could pursue the Moscow-led Customs Union if euro-integration were to reach a dead end. In this geopolitical context, the Association Agreement carries symbolic value more than anything else. The commitment of the Ukrainian government to implement the agreement’s outlined reforms will be far more telling about Ukraine’s euro-integration progress than any signing ceremonies. Yet the mere formality of the Association Agreement will give Ukrainian leaders an excuse to opt out the Customs Union amidst increasing pressure from the Russian government. On Dec. 7, Sergei Glazyev, an advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said reportedly he expects Ukraine to join the Customs Union by 2015. EU leaders have made clear in the past the Association Agreement precludes membership in the Customs Union. President Yanukovych is planning a trip to Moscow on Dec. 17-18 to discuss the Customs Union, Kommersant reported today.