About: selective justice
Solution emerging on Tymoshenko’s case: reports
EU envoys formally asked Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich to pardon his jailed opponent Yulia Tymoshenko, while she signalled for the first time that she was ready for an agreement that would send her to Germany.
Verheugen slams Berlin’s handling of EU-Ukraine relations
Günter Verheugen, a former European Commission vice president and heavyweight in Germany's Social Democratic party (SDP), said he saw “double-standards” in the German government's handling of Ukraine's bid to conclude an association agreement with the EU.
Lithuanian envoy: Failed deal with Ukraine could hurt EU’s Eastern Partnership
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.
Poland warns EU-Ukraine bilateral agreement ‘clearly’ at risk
The planned sign-off of a wide-ranging EU-Ukraine Association Agreement at the November Eastern Partnership summit is "clearly" at risk, according to the Polish Foreign Minister, Rados?aw Sikorski. He urged Ukrainian authorities to “speed up” reforms and fulfil the EU's conditions by the end of summer, and not to wait until the last moment.
Ukraine courts Germany ahead of Vilnius summit
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.
Court decision prompts fresh EU calls to free Tymoshenko
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.
Special EU mission to Ukraine wins praise, extended term
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 leader pardons Tymoshenko allies
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.
Protests turn up the heat on Ukraine’s Yanukovich
Thousands of supporters of Ukraine's re-energised opposition movement rallied outside parliament yesterday (2 April) to press for early mayoral elections in Kiev, the biggest such action against President Viktor Yanukovich this year.
Ukrainian ex-minister: ‘Our judges are independent from the law’
Petro Poroshenko, a former top government minister and an influential businessman, said yesterday (7 March) he regretted the “selective justice” that led to an opposition lawmaker to lose his parliamentary seat.
Ukrainian authorities up pressure on Tymoshenko ally
The European Union yesterday (5 March) condemned a move by Ukrainian authorities to suspend parliamentary immunity for lawyer Serhiy Vlasenko, who has actively campaigned in defence of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
Tymoshenko murder accusations overshadow upcoming EU-Ukraine summit
The EU-Ukraine summit scheduled for 25 February may mark a low point in the relations between Brussels and Kyiv, with diplomats warning that it would be “impossible” to move forward without solving the case of imprisoned former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who is now accused of commissioning a murder.
EU expects ‘determined action’ from Ukraine
EU ministers adopted yesterday (10 December) a rather long text on the Union’s relations with Ukraine, leaving options open for the holding of a bilateral summit and for signing the association agreement in 2013, provided that they see “determined action” in a number of areas, including “progress in addressing the issue of selective justice”.
Füle pours cold water on Ukraine’s EU hopes
Štefan Füle, European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy, has poured cold water over Ukraine’s ambition to hold a summit with the Union and sign an Association Agreement.
De Gucht: Ukraine doesn’t make its EU case easier
The European Commission is concerned about the many “stumbling blocks” which prevent it from proposing member states to sign the Association agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free trade Agreement (DCFTA) with Ukraine, Commissioner Karel De Gucht said yesterday (24 September), in an interview with EURACTIV.
Prosecutors ask court to uphold Tymoshenko sentence
Ukrainian state prosecutors urged a high court yesterday (21 August) to reject ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko's appeal of her conviction for abuse of office, a case Western leaders have condemned as politically motivated.
Tymoshenko denied registration as election candidate
The European Parliament’s centre-right political group has joined Ukrainian opposition forces in condemning the Ukrainian Central Election Committee’s refusal to register imprisoned political leaders Yulia Tymoshenko and Yuri Lutsenko as candidates for the October parliamentary elections.
Ukraine PM warns of ‘foreign plot’ against Kyiv
Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said his country was “taken hostage” over the case of his imprisoned predecessor, Yulia Tymoshenko, which he said was overblown because of a “foreign plot” to prevent the country from getting closer to the EU.
EU ponders ‘losing Ukraine to Russia’
EU ministers held an animated discussion in Brussels yesterday (14 May), evaluating the risks of “losing Ukraine to Russia” if too much pressure is put on the country over the treatment of imprisoned former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
Murder charge to be pressed against Tymoshenko
The Ukrainian prosecution will press murder charges against the country’s former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in two weeks time, Deputy Prosecutor General Renat Kuzmin, who is responsible for her case, announced yesterday (9 May).
Yalta summit divides Europe, again
A summit of the presidents of Central European countries due in Yalta, Ukraine, on 11-12 May, will be attended by some EU leaders and boycotted by others, EURACTIV has learned. Ironically, Yalta is a symbol of the division of Europe during the Cold War, following the February 1945 meeting there between Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin.
Ukraine signals possible solution to Tymoshenko case
Meeting with journalists in Brussels yesterday (25 April), Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Valeriy Khoroshkovskiy said that if "all problems" between Ukraine and the EU were solved, the Parliament in Kyiv could pass extraordinary legislation to set former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko free from jail.
Tymoshenko absent as new trial begins
A new trial of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko - already serving a seven-year prison term on abuse-of-office charges - opened today (19 April) with the defendant refusing to attend on grounds of poor health.