Door to Europe still open for Kyiv

The European Parliament has passed a joint resolution about Ukraine by a simple majority at a plenary session. The text was finalized as long ago as October 25. The voting was preceded by short speeches to the point rather than by a full debate.

The document covers a wide range of strategic-level bilateral relations, including recognition of the Ukrainian aspirations to join the European Union and recommendations on investigating the mistakes that the government may have made when draft resolutions were discussed in parliamentary ad hoc commissions. “The European Parliament… takes the view that a deepening of relations between the EU and Ukraine and the fact of offering Ukraine a European perspective are of great significance and in the interests of both parties; recognizes Ukraine’s aspirations pursuant to Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union, provided that all criteria, including respect for the principles of democracy, human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law, are met.” At the same time, the EP “welcomes the agreement that has been reached on the conclusion of a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement; regards this agreement as a solid basis for the possible finalization of the negotiations on an Association Agreement between the European Union and Ukraine.”

The preliminary discussion of the resolution showed a rare unanimity of the MEPs regarding the Tymoshenko and Lutsenko cases. Tellingly, not only members of the People’s Party Group, traditionally friendly towards the Ukrainian opposition, but also members of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, who had signed a memorandum on cooperation with the Party of Regions, expressed indignation over the use of courts for political purposes. That these factions and groups are sharing the same views should put the Ukrai-nian leadership on its guard.

“The European Parliament… deplores the sentencing of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko as a violation of human rights and an abuse of the judiciary for the purpose of the political suppression of Ukraine’s leading opposition politician; emphasizes that the law selectively applied against Tymoshenko dates back to Soviet times and makes provision for criminal prosecution for political decisions; whereas Articles 364 and 365 of that law, which are currently under review by the Ver-khovna Rada, do not conform to European and UN standards.” The document also “expresses genuine concern at the continued detention of the former Minister of the Interior, Yuri Lutsenko, against whom no sentence has yet been pronounced in his trial, and at other similar cases.” “Failure to review Yulia Tymoshenko’s conviction will jeopardize the conclusion of the Association Agreement and its ratification, while pushing the country further away from the realization of its European perspective; [the European Parliament] expresses concern at some signs of decline in democratic freedoms and at the possible instrumentalization of state institutions for partisan purposes and to exact political revenge,” the resolution emphasizes.

The European Parliament “strongly supports the recommendations put forward in the joint opinion of the Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR on the draft parliamentary election law; considers it essential that these re-commendations should be adopted and implemented in an expedient, inclusive and comprehensive fashion, involving both the opposition and civil society; urges all political forces in Ukraine to conduct a fair and transparent debate about the political decision-making process; insists that investigations into possible failures in that process should be carried out by a parliamentary committee of inquiry.”

At the same time, the EP resolution advises the European Commission to hold a meeting with Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych before the Ukraine-EU summit “to re-establish a constructive dialogue.”

This resolution should be regarded as the last chance for the Ukrainian leadership to take real steps towards European integration. But it should be crystal clear that, firstly, it is rarely possible to regain the lost opportunities in the future. Secondly, everything in the Russian direction does not look as rosy as Premier Azarov is trying to present. He had to admit that he had failed so far to reach a gas agreement. This shows again that we should not expect Moscow to give us “the carrot” even if we sign new agreements on joining something. Moreover, the Russian capital will be raising its voice all the time, while our officials will have to listen to this with a meek look on their faces and cadge for a new sop. Another warning to Kyiv is the report that the Russian company Lukoil is going to sell the Odesa refinery, even though hundreds of millions of dollars were invested in its reconstruction and modernization. Taking into account a close link between gas, oil, and Russian policies, it is easy to assume that it is a new lever of pressure on the Ukrainian government. Moscow believes that the interests of Lukoil are quite beneficial for the state and will spare no effort to protect the company. It is absolutely obvious that Russia wants to take advantage of Kyiv’s dire straits and to make as much use as possible of the current situation to fulfill Putin’s plan to establish the Eurasian Union.

The door to Europe is still open for Kyiv, but the passage is narrowing. The European Parliament’s resolution is another indication of this. For the door may close much to the delight of Moscow and the chagrin of Ukraine.

COMMENTARIES

Marek SIWIEC, member of the European Parliament:

“The atmosphere was extremely tense during the vote because we had a lot of fundamental differences. Most of the MEPs deplore the way the Tymoshenko trial was held. We have repeatedly urged our Ukrainian partners to revise the background of this case. This resolution is not very good for the relations between Ukraine and the EU due to a low level of the law system and, hence, the rule of law, in Ukraine. But it did not shut the door to the finishing of the negotiations on signing the Agreement on Association between Ukraine and the EU. So, in my view, it is very important to continue these contacts. I do not know all the aspects of Ukrainian policies, but I think the resolution levels fair criticism on Ukraine.”

Volodymyr FESENKO, political scientist; director, Penta Center for Applied Political Research:

“When it comes to finding out whether or not the European Parliament’s resolution is the harshest possible, it is just a case of purely subjective estimations. In all probability, every Ukrainian politician, with their own views on the prospects and requirements of Ukraine’s European integration, will see what they want to see. And there will be different estimations. Clearly, representatives of the opposition, including Yulia Tymoshenko’s political force, will be saying it is the harshest resolution. They will emphasize its critical side. But what will really matter for those who favor Ukraine’s European integration is the fact that, in spite of differing estimations and the debate on the Tymoshenko case, the European Union is not shutting the door for Ukraine on its way to Europe and negotiations on the agreements on association and a free trade area between Ukraine and the EU are still underway. The fact that the resolution will, by all accounts, call for continuing the negotiations at various, including the topmost, levels confirms this again.”