Yanukovych gets cold reception in Warsaw summit
The success of Ukraine’s aspirations to integrate with Europe may hinge on the fate of Yulia Tymoshenko, jailed since Aug. 5 and facing charges of exceeding authority as prime minister for the 2009 natural gas contracts she negotiated with Russia.
That’s the impression I came away with from the European Union’s Eastern Partnership summit in Warsaw on Sept. 29-30.
The Eastern Partnership is an effort by the EU to bring Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia into the democratic fold.
Although the EU is struggling through another economic crisis, the Warsaw summit was attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, one of the most influential politicians in Europe.
Merkel also took time to have a separate closed-door meeting with President Viktor Yanukovych to talk about Tymoshenko’s fate. EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council, raised the same issue with Ukraine’s president.
European leaders believe the charges against Tymoshenko are politically motivated and link the Tymoshenko trial to Kyiv’s chances to move closer to Brussels.
That’s the impression I came away with from the European Union’s Eastern Partnership summit in Warsaw on Sept. 29-30.
The Eastern Partnership is an effort by the EU to bring Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia into the democratic fold.
Although the EU is struggling through another economic crisis, the Warsaw summit was attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, one of the most influential politicians in Europe.
Merkel also took time to have a separate closed-door meeting with President Viktor Yanukovych to talk about Tymoshenko’s fate. EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council, raised the same issue with Ukraine’s president.
European leaders believe the charges against Tymoshenko are politically motivated and link the Tymoshenko trial to Kyiv’s chances to move closer to Brussels.
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© 2012 Created by Arne Grauls.
