You're reading: Fule: EU never declared boycott of Euro 2012 matches in Ukraine

The European Union has never declared a boycott of matches of the Euro 2012 European Football Championship in Ukraine, European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule has said.

"We have never used the word ‘boycott’ in the European Commission and the EU Council," the European Commissioner said during the debate on the situation in Ukraine in the European Parliament on May 22.

He noted that the European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and other members of the Commission said they would not go to Ukraine and attend matches of Euro 2012. However, commissioners can attend such events as private individuals, rather than in their official capacity, Fule said.

"It is not a boycott. We hope that Euro 2012 will be a great success," the commissioner added.