EU unable to give Kyiv what was agreed, criticised Poroshenko. The Ukrainian leader set the agenda: free visas to be granted immediately, no further delays in association agreement
by Emanuele Bonini
Formally the EU-Ukraine summit relaunched the strategic partnership between the two sides, in practice it showed all the Ukrainian frustration for the incapacity of Europe in keeping the promises. The EU-Ukraine Association Agreement is blocked by the Netherlands and it cannot be ratified, the free visa regime is not granted yet, in energy the Europeans keep making deals with Russia. Too little achievements for the Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, who claimed what he believes has to be granted with no further ado. The European counterparts offered optimism and a new financial package aimed to sustain the path of the reforms in the country. Not to much, but it is all what could be offered.
Summit achievement
The 18th EU-Ukraine summit reiterated the condemnation of the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia. EU still defends the territorial integrity of Ukraine and respects the principle of maintaining sanctions, whose imposition is linked to the full respect of the Minsk agreements. This is nothing new in the bilateral relations. The summit was also the occasion to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation in the energy sector. This is not something of new at all, since the the MoU replaces the one signed in 2005. The two sides decided to review their cooperation extending it in a wider range of areas (research, energy efficiency, energy security, decarbonization, interconnectivity). At the Summit, a €15 million programme to fight corruption has been signed, together with a €104 million programme in support of public administration reform, and a €52.5 million programme to foster the rule of law are in the pipeline for later in the year.
Visa liberalization
The 18th EU-Ukraine also established that Ukraine is fully entitled to get the free visa regime. «Ukraine fulfilled all the conditions required, and it is fair that the country got the visa liberalization», said the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, expressing also the point of view of the European Council. It's up to the EU Member States and the European Parliament to give th green light to thise decision making it official. The general hope is to formalize the end of compulsory visas by the end of the year.
Poroshenko's irritation
The president of the Ukrainian Republic, Petro Poroshenko, didn't hide his irritation for the poor progress showed by the European Union. «The Association agreement is the symbol of the new Ukraine». It has several meanings: political, economic, symbolic. «Any further delay in the ratification wouldn't be good for anybody. We are not submitting new demands, we are asking for nothing but what was already agreed». That means the Ukrainian side is waiting for the ratification of the agreement, as promised by the EU. But this is not the only reason for Ukrainians to be upset. On energy, «of course we talked about Northstream» and about it «I don't believe be a good idea to broaden access to Russian gas». EU behaviour and choices didn't make Poroshenko happy. At least on visas tangible measures are needed. «We fulfilled 144 criteria. After today summit we would like having the assurance that visa liberalization will be granted».
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| Petro Poroshenko (left) with Jean-Claude Juncker (right) |
Formally the EU-Ukraine summit relaunched the strategic partnership between the two sides, in practice it showed all the Ukrainian frustration for the incapacity of Europe in keeping the promises. The EU-Ukraine Association Agreement is blocked by the Netherlands and it cannot be ratified, the free visa regime is not granted yet, in energy the Europeans keep making deals with Russia. Too little achievements for the Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, who claimed what he believes has to be granted with no further ado. The European counterparts offered optimism and a new financial package aimed to sustain the path of the reforms in the country. Not to much, but it is all what could be offered.
Summit achievement
The 18th EU-Ukraine summit reiterated the condemnation of the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia. EU still defends the territorial integrity of Ukraine and respects the principle of maintaining sanctions, whose imposition is linked to the full respect of the Minsk agreements. This is nothing new in the bilateral relations. The summit was also the occasion to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation in the energy sector. This is not something of new at all, since the the MoU replaces the one signed in 2005. The two sides decided to review their cooperation extending it in a wider range of areas (research, energy efficiency, energy security, decarbonization, interconnectivity). At the Summit, a €15 million programme to fight corruption has been signed, together with a €104 million programme in support of public administration reform, and a €52.5 million programme to foster the rule of law are in the pipeline for later in the year.
Visa liberalization
The 18th EU-Ukraine also established that Ukraine is fully entitled to get the free visa regime. «Ukraine fulfilled all the conditions required, and it is fair that the country got the visa liberalization», said the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, expressing also the point of view of the European Council. It's up to the EU Member States and the European Parliament to give th green light to thise decision making it official. The general hope is to formalize the end of compulsory visas by the end of the year.
Poroshenko's irritation
The president of the Ukrainian Republic, Petro Poroshenko, didn't hide his irritation for the poor progress showed by the European Union. «The Association agreement is the symbol of the new Ukraine». It has several meanings: political, economic, symbolic. «Any further delay in the ratification wouldn't be good for anybody. We are not submitting new demands, we are asking for nothing but what was already agreed». That means the Ukrainian side is waiting for the ratification of the agreement, as promised by the EU. But this is not the only reason for Ukrainians to be upset. On energy, «of course we talked about Northstream» and about it «I don't believe be a good idea to broaden access to Russian gas». EU behaviour and choices didn't make Poroshenko happy. At least on visas tangible measures are needed. «We fulfilled 144 criteria. After today summit we would like having the assurance that visa liberalization will be granted».
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