“Ukrainian lobby is active in Brussels”

The Day’s journalist arrived to the place, where today Ukraine is being weighed on the scale and studied under a magnifying glass as a potential new member of the European family, and examined the content of the local media to see whether they mention Ukraine and Ukrainian issues in their materials. As a result we saw many generally positive information notes, tentative conclusions, and reserved, perhaps, even somewhat superficial, background information on some issues…

For example, Brussels news portal EurActiv.com reports that the signing of the Association Agreement with the EU will give Ukraine a number of new opportunities that are essential for creating a competitive state in today’s global political and economic climate. The important factor is not only the six-percent annual GDP growth, which will be possible in the event of agreement between Ukraine and the EU, but also the fact that it will join the market of 500 million people, which is 10 times more powerful than the Customs Union under the auspices of Russia.

Of course, it is difficult to claim objective conclusions – it would not be correct to do so judging from a sample from just one day. That’s why we “tested” our findings on a colleague of ours who works in Brussels and every day monitors local press. In a blitz-interview for The Day Andrii LAVRENIUK, UKRINFORM special correspondent in Belgium, spoke about what Brussels media pay attention to in the light of the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius, how they present the Tymoshenko case, and what image of Ukraine do they provide in their materials:

“I think that in this context the most interesting is the press of the European Union. There are several media in Brussels: Internet portals and print media, which are close to the leading European institutions. They, indeed, pay much attention to Ukrainian matters. Almost every week each of these media make a publication about Ukraine. These are mostly information notes that occasionally contain the history of the subject or some conclusions of a journalist. For example, yesterday my press review consisted of the information about the visits of the European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fuele and the European Commissioner for Energy Guenther Oettinger to Ukraine.

“The emphasis is made, of course, on the fact that the issue of European integration of Ukraine revolves around the Tymoshenko case. European media report that the European side, despite positive developments in addressing the issues required to sign the Association Agreement, still does not take off the agenda its demands. Thus, the visits of the European commissioners that I have mentioned are also presented through the prism of Tymoshenko case. It is symbolically sensitive and acute in the content of European mass media as well, as it is in Ukrainian ones. Although, there appear occasional comments that there is a chance that Ukraine will be able to sign the Agreement without resolving the issue of Tymoshenko’s imprisonment…”

How do European media react to statements like the one recently made by the former European Commissioner Guenter Verheugen? Remember, he said that we shall not make the fate of a state dependent on the fate of a single politician, whose biography, by the way, is quite ambiguous?

“Ukrainian lobby is quite active in Brussels and their main goal is to form such social, political, and expert opinion. Special EU figures participate in this process, but they speak about it very cautiously. They, at least, don’t mention Tymoshenko’s name, when they speak generally about the need to systematically address the problems of the judicial system of Ukraine. Some politicians in the European Parliament are more open and bald in their opinions. This has been proved by two open letters from a group of European parliamentarians, one of which was released last week. It stated that there is no need to make the future deepening of relationship between Ukraine and the EU dependent on, as they put it, the problem of one person/lady/woman…”

Have the European media that you monitor raised the issue of the fall default in Ukraine?

“I haven’t seen any reports on this. On the contrary, the vast majority of publications state that the signing of the Association Agreement, in the context of realization of its economic part, is beneficial for the Ukrainian economy and beneficial for Europe.

“However, of course, from time to tome the local media quote Russian politicians. For example, last week an interview with Permanent Representative of Russia to the EU Vladimir Chizhov was published. His rhetoric is certainly in tact with the traditional position of the Russian Federation: the Association Agreement with the EU may have negative consequences for economic cooperation between Ukraine and Russia, it’s not a certain fact that European integration is supported by all the citizens of Ukraine, Russia warns Ukraine…

“Yet the position of experts and journalists on Ukraine that prevails in Brussels is generally positive and supportive. They exert every effort on their part to find a consensus and start the process of active rapprochement with Ukraine.”