In June and July, the Euro 2012 soccer tournament will take place in Kyiv, Donetsk, Lviv and Kharkiv, offering Ukraine a chance to shine on the international stage. The preparations for the tournament have been rocky and tainted by accusations of rampant corruption.

There are concerns about the provision of hotel rooms and transport. Ukraine will creak under a volume of visitors it has never experienced before.

We hope that the tournament will enable the nation to show off its many good features: friendly people, hospitality, zest for fun. We fear it could be dominated by its worst sides: poor organization and greed.

The second major event is the parliamentary election in October. The European Union leadership warned President Viktor Yanukovych on Dec. 19 that he can forget about closer relations if these elections don’t pass the “litmus test.”

We hope Yanukovych is listening, although he has given no indication of readiness to respond to the EU’s concerns.

The EU is demanding that political opponents of the current authorities be released and allowed to participate.

It also noted the need to secure media freedoms and the freedom of assembly.

We hope Yanukovych is listening, although he has given no indication of readiness to respond to the EU’s concerns.
If he doesn’t, the EU will put the association agreement on ice, and leave Ukraine in a gray zone, where it will be more susceptible to pressure from Russia.

Given the precarious financial situation that Ukraine finds itself in, this is very worrying.

The government needs to secure a discount on gas prices to help its stretched finances, but Russia has demanded huge concessions such as Ukraine’s joining its customs union or handing over a large stake in strategic gas pipelines.

Next year could be decisive for Ukraine’s course as a nation. It is time for Yanukovych and his allies to turn his pro-European talk into unambiguously pro-European actions.

If they are unable or unwilling to do so, Ukrainians will seize opportunities to move the nation in the direction they want this country to go and history will render a cruel verdict to those in power.