Yanukovych requests cooperation plan with Customs Union

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych ordered on March 15 the Economy Ministry to develop by July a mid-term plan of cooperation with the Customs Union of the Common Economic Space, particularly in the spheres of trade and technical industries. The requirement was part of a 2013 action plan for implementing economic reforms. In addition, the plan requires that the Economy Ministry develop by December a trade agreement on services with the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Ukraine won’t join the Customs Union “so as not to divide the country,” said Valeriy Muntian, the state official who will lead the interdepartmental working group to develop the plan. The Ukrainian government would benefit from gaining observer status in the Customs Union, enabling it to develop and approve numerous policies and allowing it “to keep its finger on its pulse.”

Zenon Zawada: The Yanukovych administration has scored a foreign policy victory in not allowing the Russian government to pressure it into the Customs Union, and forcing an alternative arrangement. Of course, this victory could prove fleeting depending on what arrangement the Ukrainian government reaches with the Russians. Equally important, this arrangement has bought time for the Yanukovcych administration in its bargaining with the European Union in signing the Association Agreement, which will be an even greater challenge given its lofty requirements.