Parliament showed on Nov. 5 that Ukraine’s prospects for signing an association and free trade agreement with the European Union are still fragile.
Instead of
supporting the bill that would allow for the release of imprisoned
former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenkoto get medical treatment abroad, the
lawmakers of the pro-presidential Party of Regions spoke about the need to force
Tymoshenko to pay money to the state – money that they allege was obtained by
her through fraudulent means with Pavlo Lazarenko, her former ally and fellow
former prime minister.
On Nov. 4,
thegovernment began through international law firm Lawrence Graham a legal
action in the U.S. and Switzerland regarding money stolen by Lazarenko, who was
convicted in 2004 of laundering cash through U.S. banks. The case also
mentioned Tymoshenko as Lazarenko’s accomplice.
“We need to
ask our European partners, what should we do with this?” Oleksandr Yefremov,
head of the Party of Regions faction in parliament told journalists on Nov. 5,
adding that some $500 million to $1 billion are at stake. “And if the answer
would be that we should not take this into account, then I have many questions
to them (the Europeans).”
The EUhas
demanded that Ukraine release Tymoshenko, who is more than two years into a
seven-year prison sentencefor abusing her powers while in office, a case widely
seen by the West as an example of selective justice. Several European leaders have
said her release is a major precondition for signingthe landmark association
and free trade dealon Nov. 28-29 at the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius.
Parliament this
week is set to review several laws that could allow for the release of Tymoshenko
for medical treatment in Germany.One proposed law by independent lawmaker
Anzhelika Lobunska was called by the special EU envoy comprised of former
President of the European Parliament Pat Cox and former Polish President
Aleksander Kwasniewski as “the best basis on which pro-government and
opposition parties should seek consensus.”
This draft law
statesthat a convicted person may be allowed bya court to go for medical
treatment abroad if he or she has spent atleast one year in a hospital without
improvement. This person will also be relieved of having to serve the rest ofhis
or her prison term.
While both
Tymoshenko and her Batkivshchyna party said on Nov. 1 that they support Lobunska’s
draft law, the pro-government party called it unacceptable if taken without
changes. “In this draft this bill will not be accepted even in the first
reading,” Volodymyr Oliynyk told the Kyiv Post.
He added
that Tymoshenko should not be released without repayment to the state of losses
incurred during her time as prime minister,as cited inthe 2011 court decision.
“Yulia Volodymyrivna (Tymoshenko) must pay,” Oliynyk said.
After
debates, on Nov. 7 lawmakers will consider all proposed laws outlining medical
treatment for convicts. But the opposition camp has serious doubts that there
will be a positive result that day. “When there is a will to sign the association
agreement, then they (pro-government parties) seek ways to sign it. But if
there is no will, then they look for the reasons not to do it,” Viktor Chumak,
lawmaker for opposition Ukrainian Alliance for Reform (UDAR) party told the
Kyiv Post.
UDAR’s
leader Vitali Klitschko said that the opposition will invite the EU mediators
Cox and Kwasniewski to parliament on Nov. 7 to observe debates and the voting
onproposed laws.
The Cox and
Kwasniewski mission will announce their final decision on whether Ukraine
solved its problem of selective justice on Nov. 14, Ukraine’s foreign affairs
ministry said.A positive announcement from the mission will go a long way in
convincing the EU that it should strengthen ties and sign an association deal
with Ukraine, according to Swedish foreign affairs minister Carl Bildt and his
Polish counterpart Radosław Sikorski.
Kyiv Post staff writer Oksana Grytsenko can be
reached at [email protected].
