Late last year, on the insistence of the European Peoples Party, the European Parliament twice delayed a resolution on Ukraine for fear that it would embarrass Victor Yanukovich ahead of an important round of regional elections.At the time, it seemed pretty clear that the EPP, the largest group in the Parliament had decided to give the new Ukrainian President the benefit of the doubt, and supported him against more skeptical/critical voices. However, it looks like the love-affair might be over.

The EPP website has a press release slapped across the home page saying “Ukraine moving further away from EU`s norms and values”.

It says

“I condemn the opening of a new court case against Yulia Tymoshenko, regarding the crucial gas agreements between Ukraine and Russia in January 2009, which were also positively assessed by the European Commission. This latest move of consecutive court cases against Yulia Tymoshenko is, once again, politically motivated in a concerted effort by President Yanukovych to intimidate and suppress the democratic opposition in Ukraine.”

“I am also very concerned with President Yanukovich’s intention to change the Ukrainian constitution in a non-transparent manner, moving Ukraine further away from basic EU norms and values. Any changes in the country’s constitution must correspond to European democratic standards and strengthen the separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary. I also note the rumours on ngo legislation and underline the importance of freedom of association as well as opportunities for international cooperation.”

“Recalling all previous EPP declarations and on behalf of the EPP, I will continue to follow very closely the developments in Ukraine and react accordingly. Moreover, I reiterate my full support to Batkivshchyna and its leader Yulia Tymoshenko and I look forward to meeting her in our next Enlarged EPP Summit in Brussels.”

However you look at this, the statement is bad new for everyone. It is bad for the Ukrainian authorities at a time when they need EU support for a number of key agreements, it is bad for the EPP who had invested a lot in supporting the Ukrainian authorities and, if true, the contents of the press release is bad for Ukraine and Ukrainians.
Posted from: www.bearder.com