KYIV, June 26 – A European Union representative on Tuesday praised Ukraine’s progress in reforms, but urged officials to have realistic expectations about membership in the trading bloc. Francesco Luciani, deputy head of the EU delegation in Ukraine, applauded Ukraine’s “excellent results” in improving law enforcement and democracy, but stressed at a meeting to discuss the EU-Ukraine summit in July that “integration” does not mean “accession.” “The EU is not an open association. It is not sufficient to meet the criteria. Accession of each new member is linked to the capacity and political willingness of members to have (the country) within the union,” said Luciani. Luciani singled out better elections, border enforcement, the fight against money laundering and efforts to stop trafficking in humans and weapons as “impressive” signs of Ukraine’s commitment to the EU. But he also noted that Ukraine still lags behind in economic reforms, and said it was also “impressive is how low European investment is in Ukraine.”
Ukrainian leaders stressed their unequivocal desire to accelerate integration of the former Soviet republic into the EU. Lawmakers admitted that EU membership will likely not come for a decade, but confirmed their eagerness to be recognized by the EU as a market economy and to achieve associate EU member status as early as possible. Meanwhile, the EU’s recent decision to name Ukraine a “special neighbor” drew criticism from some pro-Europe lawmakers.
Borys Tarasiuk, former foreign minister and chairman of the parliamentary committee on European integration, deplored the EU decision to classify Ukraine in the same group as chronically poor Moldova and pro-Soviet Belarus, calling it “a surprise … not consistent with our status as strategic partner.”
Ukraine’s relationship with the EU is based on a 1994 partnership and cooperation agreement that took effect in 1998. President Leonid Kuchma made EU membership a top policy in a speech to the parliament titled “European Choice” last month.
