Ukraine declining several EU requirements for Association pact

National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Chair Andriy Kliuyev conducted an official visit to Brussels on April 23-24 during which he informed EU leaders that the Ukrainian government declines to fulfill some of the requirements placed by the EU for the Association Agreement, the Kommersant-Ukrayina newspaper reported on April 25. It was Kliuyev’s first visit after Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych appointed him the coordinator of Euro-integration activity of the executive branch’s central organs.

The Ukrainian government will only work on those criteria established by documents approved bilaterally at the Feb. 25 Ukraine-EU summit, Kliuyev’s press service reported. The tone of these documents is far softer than the EU’s subsequently declared requirements. The Ukrainian government succeeded in removing from the Feb. 25 summit’s statement mentions of Ukraine’s biggest challenges, such as the need to eliminate selective justice in the courts. The statement makes no mention of Yulia Tymoshenko, the former prime minister imprisoned for political reasons, as alleged by Western leaders, who are demanding her release. Besides not wanting to arrange for Tymoshenko’s release, the Yanukovych administration won’t amend its election code, as required by the EU leadership.

In his meeting with Kliuyev, European Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht raised his concern with Ukraine’s decision to introduce import duties on European cars, reportedly. The EU could refrain from signing the Association Agreement on that basis alone, Kommersant reported. EU leaders also expressed their concern with “Kyiv’s plans to review the conditions of its WTO membership.”

Zenon Zawada: The report confirms that Ukraine faces numerous hurdles that are just as significant as Tymoshenko’s imprisonment. This stack of problems, including the auto import duties and already-filed WTO complaints, is clearly causing fatigue and added frustration among the EU leadership. Failing to meet the May deadline even for those reforms that the Ukrainians are willing to pursue will only contribute to the EU fatigue.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian leaders are showing they’re not particularly concerned about the risks of their strategy, hoping to elude many of the 11 requirements set by the EU leadership that they view as a threat to their power, such as amending the election code. The wager is that Ukraine is too important for the EU to let slip out of its orbit. As numerous diplomats have stated however, the Ukrainian leaders are pushing their luck in thinking the EU will tolerate their policies that don’t conform to Western values. The latest report merely confirms our assessment that the Ukrainian government’s chances of signing the Association Agreement in November are below 50 percent.