You're reading: In Warsaw, debate over Ukraine’s EU future

WARSAW, Poland – To sign or not to sign. That is the question that many European nations will have to answer with respect to Ukraine.

The
long-discussed association agreement between Ukraine and the European Union was
initialed earlier this year. But its signing is up in the air. For some EU
nations, Ukraine hasn’t shown enough progress on democracy – particularly an
end to selective criminal prosecutions and the release opposition leaders – for
their leaders to sign such a deal. Given that Ukraine’s Oct. 28 parliamentary
elections also fell short of democratic standards, such a signing looks more
problematic.

Neither the
government nor Ukraine’s political opposition are making it any easier for
Ukraine’s friends in the 27-nation bloc.

Poland, which has been one of Ukraine’s most loyal allies and ardent lobbyists
in Europe, is a good case study to see how policy towards Ukraine is playing
out.

Bogdan
Borusewicz, the speaker of Poland’s Senate, said his nation has pragmatic and
emotional interests in signing the association agreement, a 1,000-page document
that incorporates all aspects of the relationship, from political to economic
and free trade.

“I would
like to understand… what position Poland should be taking on this issue,” Borusewicz told the conference of politicians, academics and analysts from both
nations on Nov. 29-30.

On the one
hand, the Polish short-term observation mission that came for the election did
not record any violations on Election Day. The assessment of the vote-counting
process was more critical, however.

On the other hand, Borusewicz said that he was lobbied by a member of the political
opposition to not recognize the Oct. 28 vote “because our leader is in jail,”
referring to former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s seven-year prison
sentence for what many in the West regard as a trumped-up and political charge
of abuse of office.

Borys
Tarasiuk, a former foreign minister and prominent member of United Opposition,
did not make the job of Polish policymakers any easier. He said the signing should
not take place. “The representatives of an authoritarian government cannot be
rewarded with signing of this agreement,” Tarasiuk said.

Andriy
Shevchenko, another member of the United Opposition, suggested an alternative
plan of action. He said, in particular, that cooperation on specific issues, on
human rights and on education – as well as progress towards a visa-free regime
— should take center stage.

Oles
Doniy, an oppositional deputy elected to parliament in a single-mandate
district, gave the most radical, Cold War-style speech, blaming Russia for
preventing Ukraine’s integration with Europe. “What they once failed to do with
tanks, what the communists failed to do, they’re now doing through economic
expansion,” Doniy said.

Oksana
Prodan, a newly-elected deputy who spoke on behalf of Vitali Klitschko’s
Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reforms Party, looked comparatively moderate
and pragmatic. Prodan said that Europe “is a salvation” for Ukraine. The association
agreement, she said, is badly needed as the proverbial carrot for Ukraine to make
major changes in the protection
of human rights, health, business regulation, competition law and so on.

The
Ukrainian political opposition’s inability to form a common opinion was
disappointing for the Polish organizers.

Aleksander
Smolar, president of Stefan Batory Foundation, an influential private think
tank in Warsaw that organized the event, summed it up succinctly. “The
opposition needs to become more mature and actually show us some quality
projects for European integration,” Smolar said. “Moreover, they need to give
Europe a reason to support the opposition – not just a moral reason.”

Presidential
adviser Hanna Herman, the only government representative, talked up the
government’s pro-European aspirations. She said Ukraine’s European choice is an
official priority written in law. “Yanukovych has never talked about changing
this priority,” she said, adding that “our government has done a lot in two
years to integrate to Europe.”

Technically,
she is right because it was the Yanukovych government that initialed the association
agreement and received the road map to a visa-free regime with Europe. The
government also touts progress in EU integration, however small. On Dec. 5,
Foreign Minister Kostyantyn Gryshchenko happily tweeted about another
“important victory” in trade negotiations with Europe. “Ukraine received permission
for the export of eggs, egg products and domestic and wild fowl to the market
of the European Union,” Gryshchenko tweeted.

However,
the values question remains – and enough EU nations appear prepared to put the
association agreement on ice until Ukraine reverses its democratic regression.

Dariusz
Rosati, professor of economics and a Polish member of the European Parliament,
said that true integration comes when there is an integration of values and interests.
“Without the values, integration is morally weak; without the interests, it’s
unstable,” Rosati said.

Although
he was speaking about EU-member Poland’s integration at the time, Rosati’s statement
rings true for Ukraine, whose elite are still debating whether the countries shares
the interests or values of the West.

Kyiv Post editor Katya Gorchinskaya
can be reached at [email protected].