Ukraine parliament convenes without key EU Association Agreement bills

Ukraine’s parliament convened on September 3 for the fall session with its agenda lacking most of the bills necessary for signing the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement. The ruling Party of Regions alleged that one legislative item, “On Introducing Amendments to the Customs Tariffs Law,” was necessary for the Association Agreement, but the pro-Western opposition parties disagreed and didn’t support the legislation, alleging the law would only promote the government’s corruption, the Kommersant-Ukrayina newspaper reported.

That morning, President Viktor Yanukovych greeted the new session, declaring his expectation that the majority and opposition will contribute their votes to accelerate necessary reforms to the judiciary, state prosecution and Internal Affairs ministry; to help liberalize the EU’s visa regime with Ukraine; as well as strengthen the transparency of state finances by widening the authority of the Accounting Office,” Yanukovych said.

Zenon Zawada: It remains to be seen what the Ukrainian government – interested in keeping the status quo – is willing to offer the Europeans in exchange for the Association Agreement. We expect the parliamentary majority won’t have any trouble in getting the necessary votes for passing bills necessary for signing the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement. At the same time, the ruling Party of Regions is testing the EU’s patience to its very limits in waiting until the last minute to prepare the necessary legislation.