Friday

29th Sep 2023

Ukraine lowers ambitions for EU summit

  • The pre-summit maneuvering comes amid a sharp deterioration in EU-Ukraine relations in recent weeks (Photo: thisisbossi)

Ukrainian negotiators have said there is no need to initial an EU trade and association pact at a summit in Kiev in December as previously planned.

Deputy foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin told press in Brussels on Monday (7 November) "For me, it [the summit] is not about deliverables in a formal way ... We need a powerful statement, that we have concluded all the negotiations, but whether we initial it or not is less important."

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

He quipped that the trade part of the agreement itself has 1,800 pages, making it physically hard to put the chief negotiators' initials on every page in just one day.

The change of plan comes amid Ukrainian complaints that the EU is unwilling to include a clear promise on future accession in the pact.

An EU diplomat noted that making a "political statement" without the formal act of completion leaves Ukraine free to reopen talks on the accession promise at a later date. "They are thinking: 'Better wait and play some more. Nothing is decided until everything is decided.' But they know there is no EU consensus on enlargement. So this puts things on a knife edge. It puts the whole deal into deep freeze," the contact said.

The pre-summit manoeuvring comes amid a sharp deterioration in EU-Ukraine relations in recent weeks.

EU leaders snubbed President Viktor Yanukovych last month by cancelling a meeting in Brussels after he jailed his political rival, Yulia Tymoshenko.

His tough line on accession could be a pretext to bin the EU pact, freeing him to consolidate power at home and to focus on Ukraine-Russia relations instead. The new line on initialing could also be a face-saving exercise in case the EU side pulls back from the deal because of the Tymoshenko problem.

Klimkin on Monday said he was confident the summit will go ahead on 19 December because the EU would "send the wrong signal" if it also cancelled the event.

But faced with the prospect of Tymoshenko stuck behind bars while EU officials Herman Van Rompuy and Jose Manuel Barroso pose for snaps with Yanukovych, the EU side is not so sure.

Asked if the summit will definitely take place, EU foreign relations spokeswoman Maja Kocjancic told EUobserver on Monday: "We are working on the assumption that it will go ahead as foreseen but obviously I can't be 100 percent certain."

The EU diplomat noted: "I think Barroso and Van Rompuy realise they went a bit over the top [in cancelling the October meeting]. If nothing else negative happens, the summit should go ahead. But if nothing positive happens, the atmosphere will be very cold."

Russia and Ukraine make nice after EU snub

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has told Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovych he can jail his political rivals as far as Moscow is concerned, after the EU made him persona non grata.

Brinksmanship on all sides ahead of EU-Ukraine summit

The EU is continuing to call for legal reform in Ukraine, while Ukraine is still demanding an EU accession promise ahead of a summit that is unlikely to see the initialing of a landmark association treaty.

EU’s €500m gender violence plan falls short, say auditors

The 'Spotlight Initiative' was launched in 2017 with a budget of €500 million to end all forms of violence or harmful practices against women and girls in partner countries, but so far it has had "little impact", say EU auditors.

Latest News

  1. Added-value for Russia diamond ban, as G7 and EU prepare sanctions
  2. EU states to agree on asylum crisis bill, say EU officials
  3. Poland's culture of fear after three years of abortion 'ban'
  4. Time for a reset: EU regional funding needs overhauling
  5. Germany tightens police checks on Czech and Polish border
  6. EU Ombudsman warns of 'new normal' of crisis decision-making
  7. How do you make embarrassing EU documents 'disappear'?
  8. Resurgent Fico hopes for Slovak comeback at Saturday's election

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  2. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators, industry & healthcare experts at the 24th IMDRF session, September 25-26, Berlin. Register by 20 Sept to join in person or online.
  3. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  4. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  5. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators & industry experts at the 24th IMDRF session- Berlin September 25-26. Register early for discounted hotel rates
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us