Ukraine And The European Union: An Awkward Partnership

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Another Ukraine-European Union summit, another pledge, another deadline. There have been many over the years; the latest in Brussels on February 25th was little different. The EU has told Viktor Yanukovich, Ukraine’s president, that he has until May to show real action, not words, if he wishes to conclude a comprehensive free-trade package as part of an association agreement. The EU wants Mr Yanukovich to reform not just Ukraine’s economy but its political and judicial systems. Selective justice, reflected in the imprisonment of Yulia Tymoshenko, a former prime minister and Mr Yanukovich’s arch-rival, and of Yuri Lutsenko, a former interior minister, remains the big stumbling-block: it led last year to the cancellation of a summit in Kiev. After this week’s summit, José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, said Mr Yanukovich had given an “unequivocal commitment”. But promising everything and doing nothing has long been Ukraine’s favourite sport, says Yulia Mostovaya, editor of the newspaper Zerkalo Nedeli. In truth Mr Yanukovich’s hopes of a deal are based on a guess that the EU does not want to lose Ukraine to Russia’s customs union, not on any reforms he might make. These would require a belief in European values that Mr Yanukovich and his team do not share. Instead, he sees negotiations with the EU as a bargaining chip to play against Russia, which is trying to lure Ukraine into its customs union with cheap gas. He similarly uses Russia as a lever to extract concessions from Brussels. Now the EU is promising Ukraine €610m ($800m) if it gets its IMF programme back on track. But that depends on Ukraine making more reforms and raising domestic gas and utility prices. When brinkmanship replaces political vision, progress usually suffers