BYuT UKRAINE
GOVERNMENT PORTAL
INFORM NEWSLETTER
Political storm clouds over evian
08 September 2008
Published in
Inform
issue #84
See the full issue here.
The timing of President Viktor Yushchenko’s announcement that his bloc will quit the democratic coalition could not have been worse. It comes on the eve of Tuesday’s 2008 Ukraine-EU Summit, as EU officials and foreign ministers assemble in the French spa town of Evian.
Although the president stressed that Ukraine’s course towards European and Euro-Atlantic integration was unchanged, the recent split in the democratic coalition has eroded the confidence of many EU officials already nervous of further enlargement.
When France’s foreign minister Bernard Kouchner was asked if Ukraine could become an EU candidate, his downbeat response was, “If you have no Lisbon you have no enlargement."
Indeed, EU officials have ruled out using the summit to offer Ukraine official-candidate status. Realistically, the best Ukraine can hope for is a sop to closer ties. According to EurActiv, the “internal crisis has already led to a downgrading of the language of the draft declaration ...according to sources, no mention is made of future EU membership in the fresh draft.”
It is likely that Ukraine will be granted some concessions such as talks on easing visa requirements and perhaps an Association Agreement with wording that leaves the door open to future membership. However this falls well short of an explicit statement referencing a “European perspective,” which would have indicated a willingness to put Ukraine on a track towards eventual EU membership.
This will be a disappointment to EU members such as Britain, Czech Republic, Poland, Sweden and the Baltic states, that have pushed for a more definitive declaration of intent.
Surprisingly, neither Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko nor Hryhoriy Nemyria, Deputy Prime Minister responsible for European integration, will be present in Evian. The president has prevented them for attending.
Mr Nemyria said, “Ukraine has strategic value to the EU, not least because it provides the opportunity to create a stable democratic zone on its eastern borders.”
The former Soviet republic’s strategic significance is also underpinned by the fact that about a third of the EU’s natural gas imports transit via Ukraine’s pipeline network.
Furthermore, the EU imports agricultural products, chemicals and machinery from Ukraine. Steel and textiles have enormous potential for the 27-member nation block, but are limited by bilateral agreements. While all this may sound impressive, and notwithstanding that EU imports doubled between 2003 and 2007, Ukraine is still a minnow when it comes to trade with the bloc. It is the EU’s 16th most important trading partner, accounting for less than 1 percent of its imports and 1.8 percent of its exports.
See the full issue here.
The timing of President Viktor Yushchenko’s announcement that his bloc will quit the democratic coalition could not have been worse. It comes on the eve of Tuesday’s 2008 Ukraine-EU Summit, as EU officials and foreign ministers assemble in the French spa town of Evian.
Although the president stressed that Ukraine’s course towards European and Euro-Atlantic integration was unchanged, the recent split in the democratic coalition has eroded the confidence of many EU officials already nervous of further enlargement.
When France’s foreign minister Bernard Kouchner was asked if Ukraine could become an EU candidate, his downbeat response was, “If you have no Lisbon you have no enlargement."
Indeed, EU officials have ruled out using the summit to offer Ukraine official-candidate status. Realistically, the best Ukraine can hope for is a sop to closer ties. According to EurActiv, the “internal crisis has already led to a downgrading of the language of the draft declaration ...according to sources, no mention is made of future EU membership in the fresh draft.”
It is likely that Ukraine will be granted some concessions such as talks on easing visa requirements and perhaps an Association Agreement with wording that leaves the door open to future membership. However this falls well short of an explicit statement referencing a “European perspective,” which would have indicated a willingness to put Ukraine on a track towards eventual EU membership.
This will be a disappointment to EU members such as Britain, Czech Republic, Poland, Sweden and the Baltic states, that have pushed for a more definitive declaration of intent.
Surprisingly, neither Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko nor Hryhoriy Nemyria, Deputy Prime Minister responsible for European integration, will be present in Evian. The president has prevented them for attending.
Mr Nemyria said, “Ukraine has strategic value to the EU, not least because it provides the opportunity to create a stable democratic zone on its eastern borders.”
The former Soviet republic’s strategic significance is also underpinned by the fact that about a third of the EU’s natural gas imports transit via Ukraine’s pipeline network.
Furthermore, the EU imports agricultural products, chemicals and machinery from Ukraine. Steel and textiles have enormous potential for the 27-member nation block, but are limited by bilateral agreements. While all this may sound impressive, and notwithstanding that EU imports doubled between 2003 and 2007, Ukraine is still a minnow when it comes to trade with the bloc. It is the EU’s 16th most important trading partner, accounting for less than 1 percent of its imports and 1.8 percent of its exports.
In contrast, the EU has become Ukraine’s largest
trading partner – accounting for 31 percent of its
exports and 45.6 percent of its imports. In 2007 this
trade was valued by the European Commission at €34.8
billion ($50.6 billion) – more than twice Ukraine’s
trade with Russia, which amounts to €13.8 billion
($21 billion).
“If we are to prosper in our European aspirations, we must demonstrate political stability,” said Mr Nemyria, “we can align ourselves to meet various economic and institutional criteria, but political stability is a fundamental pre-condition of the entry process.”
The Chairman of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, Jacek-Sariucz Wolski, underlined that the coalition was facing a problem of credibility over whether it could follow a European agenda. He called for “unity of the Orange coalition, not break-up.” This is a position endorsed wholeheartedly by the Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko.
“If we are to prosper in our European aspirations, we must demonstrate political stability,” said Mr Nemyria, “we can align ourselves to meet various economic and institutional criteria, but political stability is a fundamental pre-condition of the entry process.”
The Chairman of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, Jacek-Sariucz Wolski, underlined that the coalition was facing a problem of credibility over whether it could follow a European agenda. He called for “unity of the Orange coalition, not break-up.” This is a position endorsed wholeheartedly by the Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko.