EU warns Ukraine against procrastinating on Association pact

EU Delegation to Ukraine Head Jan Tombinski warned the Ukrainian government on July 3 not to procrastinate until the last minute to approve the legislation necessary for signing the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement. “Currently, the situation is such that time is dictating the daily agenda, not the daily agenda being organized according to the available time,” he said in Kyiv, as reported by Interfax. It’s important that the Ukrainian government doesn’t end up in a situation in which it’s pressured to act by unfolding events. “It’s very important that there’s trust between Ukraine and the EU,” Tombinski said. “There wasn’t this trust for a certain time. And if some decisions will be approved at the last minute, then I doubt that will encourage the strengthening of trust between countries.”

Zenon Zawada: Tombinski’s comments confirm the anxiety among EU leaders regarding the Ukrainian government’s ability to fulfill the requirements of the Association Agreement in time for the November 28-29 Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius. It was already apparent in May that Ukrainian leaders were missing key deadlines for approving legislation and implementing reforms.

Recent analysis by NGOs, as well as comments from Ukrainians officials themselves, indicate the government remains moving at a sluggish pace. It’s these missed deadlines, combined with the ongoing incarceration of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, that can tip the scales against signing the agreement for the EU. The further accumulation of violations to rule of law and individual rights also has the potential to tip the scales adversely for Ukraine. The latest example of this was a July 3 court ruling prohibiting public demonstrations outside the Presidential Administration, which violates freedom of assembly rights.