8 December 2011
Wilfred Martens, president of the European People’s Party, said yesterday there should be no new agreement signed, ratified or implemented with Ukraine without clear commitment and clear action to change cases of political persecution. Martens specifically said former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko should be freed and eligible to participate in next year’s parliamentary election. Martens noted that political prisoners were only being held in two European countries: Belarus and Ukraine. The European People’s Party is one of the most influential European political parties and by far the largest party in the European Commission. Brad Wells: Though this statement is just from Martens and not a declaration of his party’s official stance, the comments are the first signal coming out of the European People’s Party Congress being held these next two days and set the stage for a chilly EU-Ukraine Summit in Kyiv on December 19. All signs now point to the long-awaited EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, with embedded Deep & Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, not being signed this year. We do not believe the EU’s position will goad the Ukrainian government into changing its stance on the trials underway against several opposition figures and toward Tymoshenko in particular. This implies the landmark EU-Ukraine agreement could be on ice at least until after next year’s parliamentary election in the best case scenario if the opposition can increase its influence in the government.