Tag: Ukraine

Moscow’s efforts to push Ukraine away from the EU have only led to growing the number of supporters for Kyiv's integration. The only thing left is the Ukrainian government to roll up its sleeves and make sure the Association Agreement is signed at the Vilnius summit, writes Yuriy Kochevenko.

The Ukrainian parliament's speaker said yesterday (9 September) that MPs would pass the laws required by Brussels as a pre-condition for concluding an EU pact in time for November's Vilnius Summit, paving the way for the signature of a landmark association agreement with the European Union. 

As European Commission President José Manuel Barroso prepares for what could be his last State of the Union speech in Parliament next week, he has exchanged views with MEPs, exuding what participants say was an air of triumphalism over the Commission's handling of the eurozone crisis.

Armenia will join a customs union led by its former Soviet master Russia, the country’s President Serzh Sargsyan said yesterday (3 September), a move incompatible with the free trade agreement the EU is preparing with Yerevan.

A shale gas deal in Ukraine hit a setback yesterday (20 August) when a local council rejected the government's draft production-sharing agreement with US energy company Chevron amid warnings by nationalists regarding likely damage to the environment.

Russia has imposed a ban of chocolate imports from Ukraine’s confectionery company Roshen in what appears to be an attempt to punish its pro-European owner, Petro Poroshenko, a former top government minister and an influential businessman. 

An institutional crisis of the kind the EU cannot afford would happen if the European elections put forward a candidate for Commission president who would not have the support of his own country, Günter Verheugen, former Commission vice president and enlargement commissioner, told EurActiv Poland.

EXCLUSIVE / A vote today (16 July) on whether to declare a marine protection area over an Antarctic body of water seven times the size of Germany is hanging in the balance due to Russian and Ukrainian fishing interests, the head of a European delegation to the talks has told EurActiv.

The European Union needs to strengthen itself internally if it is to become a global power, two former EU commissioners and an ex-president of the European Parliament told a conference in Warsaw. EurActiv Poland reports.

Failure to sign an association agreement with Ukraine at a regional summit in November would be a blow for the EU’s Eastern Partnership initiative aimed at pulling six former Soviet republics closer to the EU, Lithuania’s foreign minister said. EurActiv reports from Vilnius.

Former European Commission President Romano Prodi and former Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer co-chaired a public event in Brussels yesterday (17 June), with both arguing that agreement of the EU-Ukraine Association agreement at the Vilnius summit in November would serve the EU’s interests.

The recent session of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly was a success, bringing together MEPs and their counterparts from Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Bulgarian MEP Evgeni Kirilov tells EurActiv.

Ukraine is taking “active steps” to win the sympathy of Germany, the country most strongly opposed to the signature of a landmark association agreement with the EU in the absence of a solution to the imprisonment of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, diplomats told EurActiv.

It appears that Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovich has already taken the political decision to cede control over the transit pipeline network to Gazprom, in exchange for lower gas prices and long-term gas transit guarantees, writes Wojciech Konończuk.

The European Union has urged Ukrainian authorities to “reconsider thoroughly” the imprisonment of  Yulia Tymoshenko following a European Court of Human Rights ruling that the arrest of the former prime minister was illegal and politically motivated.

As the May deadline for signing a EU-Ukraine association agreement approaches, some EU countries are prepared to overlook the imprisonment of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, arguing that the Union should not lose Ukraine over the fate of one person.

A move by the European Parliament to extend its observation mission in Ukraine, led by the former presidents of Ireland and Poland, has been viewed as a sign of hope that the country can finalise its association agreement with the EU by the end of year.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych yesterday (7 April) pardoned two allies of his main foe, ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, in a move to appease Western critics but gave no sign of being ready to free the imprisoned opposition leader herself.

Over the last year, Moldova and Georgia have cooperated “quite well” with the EU, under the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), while Ukraine, which used to be the front-runner, is lagging behind, according to reports to be published today (20 March).

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych hinted that he might be ready to cede some control of his country's gas pipeline system that transports Russian gas to Europe ahead of a meeting today (4 March) with his Russian counterpart.

The 16th Ukraine–EU Summit on 25 February will launch a final countdown before the signing of a Ukraine–EU Association Agreement in Vilnius this November, writes Kostiantyn Yelisieiev.

Ukraine's top diplomat in Brussels says his country rejects any kind of pre-conditions for the signature of its Association Agreement with the EU ahead of the leadership summit to be held on Monday.

The 25 February EU-Ukraine summit is not expected to make a breakthrough in relations between Brussels and Kyiv, but it can set the course for improvement ahead of the Vilnius Eastern Partnership summit in November, Amanda Paul, analyst at the European Policy Centre, told EurActiv in an exclusive interview.