EU halts Association Agreement talks with Ukraine

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso announced on Dec. 20 that the EU will halt its negotiations with the Ukrainian government on signing the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement. Ukrainian officials have insisted on Ukraine’s Euro-integration course, even after the Cabinet of Ministers voted to halt preparations for signing the agreement, as was planned for late November, he said, as reported by the Kommersant-Ukraina newspaper. “But for all these talks, clear signs of commitment by the Ukrainian government to sign the association agreement never ensued,” Barroso said. “That’s why we believe it’s not worth continuing what can be assessed as nothing more than a means of maintaining dialogue without any real results.”

Zenon Zawada: It’s become clear to all observers that the administration of President Viktor Yanukovych has manipulated the Association Agreement negotiations to meet its own ends, which aren’t concerned with Euro-integration. So Barroso’s announcement is entirely expected and appropriate, in our view.