Ukraine government is authoritarian, former EU parliament chair says

Former European Parliament Chair Hans-Gert Pottering said in an interview published on April 16 in Poland’s Gazeta Wyborcza that “a certain form of authoritarianism” exists in Ukraine under President Viktor Yanukovych. “A long road to rule of law stands before Ukraine,” said Pottering, who currently heads the Konrad Adenauer Fund. “And if Yanukovych doesn’t release (former Prime Minister Yulia) Tymoshenko, that will become a serious obstacle on the road to Ukraine drawing closer to the EU.” Meanwhile, the European Parliament is scheduled to ratify on April 18  amendments to simplify the issuance of travel visas for certain catgegories of Ukrainian citizens.

Zenon Zawada: European MPs said they’re easing travel restrictions in spite of the policies of the Ukrainian government, which shouldn’t penalize its citizens. Meanwhile, Pottering is the latest European politician to characterize the Yanukovych administration’s governing style as authoritarian, following Andreas Gross, the head of the Ukraine election-observing mission of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. All these statements merely confirm that the EU leadership is not ready to sign the Association Agreement with the Ukrainian government if a decision had to be made today. The EU leadership is clearly looking for more fulfilled requirements and concessions from the Yanukovych administration.