French cabinet to boycott Euro-2012 matches in Ukraine
1 June 2012
France’s cabinet will not attend Euro-2012 matches in Ukraine to protest the treatment of jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, France’s Sport Minister Valerie Fourneyron said yesterday. France is the first major sovereign European nation to announce a political boycott of the June 8 – July 1 event; French President Francois Hollande also said he would not come to Ukraine. The European Commission, led by chief Jose Manuel Barroso, previously announced it would not travel to Ukraine for any matches. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has threatened to do the same.
Brad Wells: The announcements are in line with our expectations that select European politicians will use the event to protest Ukraine’s treatment of opposition politicians, but that other countries would continue to send delegates. After Euro-2012, we believe Kyiv will likely become more and more isolated from Europe. With parliamentary election campaigns set to start just a month after the final match, the current government will be keen to stick to its current course, and not want to appear soft by changing its stance on the criminal cases against opposition politicians.
