The story with the signing of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement will end after the 2015 presidential campaign in Ukraine, Penta Center for Applied Political Studies Board Chairman Volodymyr Fesenko has said.
“This process will end after the presidential election, depending in its
results,” he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Friday.
The political scientist recalled that the events that took place during the
last month of the year showed that the EU leadership has more flexible attitude
to the signing of the Association Agreement with Ukraine.
According to Fesenko, if Ukraine carries out at least some of its commitments
the agreement could be signed in November 2013, while ratification of the
document will take a while.
“If by November next year we don’t sign a principal agreement on cooperation
with the Customs Union and if we partially fulfill demands of the EU [the
adoption of a new election code and laws on the implementation of judicial
reform], then we won’t have any obstacles for the signing of the Association
Agreement,” he said.
At the same time, Fesenko stressed that the EU’s demands regarding the
release of political prisoners – former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia
Tymoshenko and former Interior Minister of Ukraine Yuriy Lutsenko – could be
carried out in a non-standard way.
According to the expert, Lutsenko could be released from prison to fulfill a
ruling of the European Court of Human Rights, although there are still other
criminal cases against him.
“The situation with Yulia Tymoshenko will be more difficult. The criminal
case on which she was convicted is likely to be revised,” the expert said.
