20 September 2011
EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Štefan Füle, in an interview this morning with daily Kommersant, said the EU was determined to complete negotiations with Ukraine on an Association Agreement, but noted that ratification of the document by all member parliaments could be difficult in light of Ukraine’s problems with judicial independence and the rule of law. Füle said the entire agreement, including the EU’s first Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement section, require ratification by all EU member states in order to come into effect. Brad Wells: Füle’s comments support our view that Ukraine will be successful in signing a new association agreement this December at the annual EU-Ukraine summit, which will take place in Kyiv. Moreover, recent statements by President Viktor Yanukovych, who is reportedly planning to do away with imprisonment for economic crimes, under which ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was charged, seem to indicate government officials are beginning to take international criticism into account as they pursue an EU trajectory. So far we have not seen any substantial steps taken to reform the judiciary and promote political plurality, but we will continue to monitor developments. Watch for news coming out of and surrounding the EU Eastern Partnership Summit on September 29-30, in which Ukraine plans to participate.