EU-Ukraine
Ukrainian government decision derails EU relationship at crucial moment accord decision
The Ukrainian government yesterday decided to officially suspend preparations for an Association Agreement with the EU. The decision comes just ten days ahead of the EU's Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius, at which a decision on an EU-Ukraine Association Agreement was expected. Reacting to the news, Greens/EFA co-president Rebecca Harms said:
"This decision by the Ukrainian government risks derailing its relationship with the EU at the most crucial moment. With the prospects for signing an EU-Ukraine Association Agreement already having been shaken by the failure to reach a decision on the release Yulia Tymoshenko for medical treatment, yesterday’s decision is a further setback. We strongly urge the Ukrainian government to reconsider this latest act of provocation, otherwise the prospects for the Vilnius Summit look bleak."
Green foreign policy spokesperson Werner Schulz added:
“An economically weak Ukraine was not able to resist Russian pressure, threats and economic sanctions any longer. Russian interference in the EU's economic relations with Ukraine is completely unacceptable. Ukraine has been a sovereign state for 20 years, not a Russian province. The EU must now support Ukraine and its people in their pursuit for democracy and a functioning rule of law, which has underway since the Orange Revolution in 2004.”
