Pressure on Ukraine to free Tymoshenko

by Martin Banks

The EU has already signalled that Tymoshenko´s release should be one of three conditions of signing the AA at a summit in Vilnius in November.

And in a recent speech in the Lithuanian capital, Elmar Brok, a German centre right Member of the European Parliament, re-stated his belief that Ukraine´s ambitions of forging ever closer relations with the EU depended on it satisfying certain criteria, including "resolving" the long-running Tymoshenko case.

Tymoshenko, a key opposition leader, is currently serving a seven-year sentence on charges of abuse of office, a conviction condemned as political by the West. She was jailed in October 2011 over her alleged role in a controversial gas contract with Russia.

The issue has recently rocketed up the political agenda in Lithuania,which is the current holder of the EU´s rotating presidency.

The Lithuanian presidency wants the signing the AA in November to be the "crowning glory" of the country´s six-month term at the helm of the EU.

However, a note of caution was recently sounded by Brok, a centre-right MEP.

Addressing the 3rd Interparliamentary Conference on CFSP (5-6 September) - and with one eye on the upcoming Vilnius summit, Brok said that while countries of the Eastern Partnership, like Ukraine, were right to have a European perspective "this is conditional on the fulfilment of certain requirements".

In the case of Ukraine, he insisted that these include finding a solution to the Tymoshenko case.

The message from Brok, who chairs the European Parliament´s influential foreign affairs committee, was, "In the coming weeks we must encourage our (Eastern) partners to pursue their reforms."

In a separate but not unrelated move, Lithuania, is currently being strongly urged to use its powerful EU presidency role to ensure the EU stands by its oft-repeated pledge that the AA remains conditional upon Tymoshenko´s release.

Several lobby groups, including the International Foundation for Democracy and Governance who briefed journalists in Brussels earlier this week are fiercely pushing for Lithuanian MPs to table a resolution in their parliament in October similar to the one recently successfully adopted by the US Senate calling for the release of Tymoshenko as a condition before signing the Agreement.

Observers say that if such a resolution were adopted by a country holding the EU presidency, it could help pave the way for Tymoshenko´s release. This, in turn, would leave the way clear for the agreement to be signed at the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius on 28-29 November.

As one well-placed Lithuanian government source told EBR, "The subject is definitely firmly on the agenda because of the importance for Lithuania to achieve a success for its presidency and also oversee a successful Eastern Partnership summit in November, including signing of the AA."

Some progress is reported in the search of a solution regarding Tymoshenko, whose supporters hope will be allowed to leave for Germany for treatment for a chronic back problem.

As the issue is highly sensitive, diplomats are reluctant to provide on the record details of the talks but the European Parliament's special envoys, former Polish President Alexander Kwaśniewsk and former European Parliament President Pat Cox, recently visited Tymoshenko in hospital and are continuing to press for her release.

Tymoshenko’s daughter Eugenia also told reporters on 9 September that she hoped that the Ukrainian authorities would “solve the issue soon."

Commenting on the latest developments, Vadym Omelchenko, president of the Gorshenin Institute, a respected Ukraine-based independent research centre, said, "The Ukraine president Viktor Yanukovych has today concentrated in his hands enormous power, and he is the number one influence in Ukraine. This also means that addressing the Tymoshenko case and the issue of the selective justice are in one man´s capability."

"We only have to hope that in the near future, the president will use his influence to address these issues."

Yanukovych and other Ukrainian officials have repeatedly said they are committed to closer integration with the EU, but have so far refused to allow Tymoshenko get treatment in Germany.

But he said on 30 August that Tymoshenko could get medical treatment abroad if laws are changed to make the move legal

Elsewhere, a senior Ukraine politician has also moved to assure the West that Kiev is taking steps to settle the issue.

Ukrainian Parliamentary (Supreme Rada) Speaker Volodymyr Rybak gave the assurance in a recent meeting with the Lithuanian Parliamentary Speaker Vydas Gedvilas.

Afterwards, Gedvilas said, "We raised the issue and spoke about it. The parliamentary speaker assured me that steps were being taken to mitigate the situation and settle the matter, since some EU countries see it as one of the matters that need to be solved to be able to sign the AA."

Echoing Yanukovych´s comments, Rybak cautioned that the case was beyond the competences of the Supreme Rada.

In his words, a few attempts were recently made to amend the criminal code, but the amendments did not rally the necessary support.

He said, "We discussed changes to Ukraine's criminal code on a few occasions to decriminalize some activities. Nevertheless, deputies did not adopt the articles, some opposition MPs did not support them either.

The matter is being discussed at a considerably higher level – at the level of the Ukrainian president, the European Parliament and EU representatives. We'll see what the negotiations bring."

Speaking at the same interparliamentary conference in Vilnius, attended by representatives from all EU member states and MEPs, Rybak said that Ukraine would "complete all of its commitments" to the EU by the end of September or early October to be able to sign the agreement in November. This was widely taken as including the Tymoshenko case.

"Ukraine needs European values and European standards," Rybak said.

The EU stands by its assertion that Tymoshenko´s imprisonment was politically motivated and repeatedly warned that failure to settle the problem may thwart the plans of signing the AA.

In an effort to reach a compromise, the European Parliament´s two envoys have attempted to persuade the Ukrainian president into pardoning Tymoshenko and allowing her to start medical treatment.

The current debate on the issue in Lithuania follows recent moves by Russia to block imports of Ukrainian confectionery. While Russian authorities had cited quality and safety concerns, the measures have been widely viewed as politically motivated.

MEPs recently described the restrictions as an act of intimidation to discourage Ukraine from concluding the AA. They also said the actions were in breach of World Trade Organization rules and an attack on Ukraine's citizens.

Earlier this month, Euro parliamentarians adopted a draft resolution which calls for MEPs to have a greater say on European Neighbourhood Policy. The draft offers short but sharp assessments of the individual situation with all ENP countries. On Ukraine it "regrets that progress in fulfilling the requirements of the AA has been put on hold."

After a recent meeting in Brussels with EU legislators, Ukraine parliamentary opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk told MEPs that Ukraine's future lay with Europe and voiced optimism that the Ukraine government "will stop selective justice and political persecution and that Yulia Tymoshenko will be released."

"The first step in order to make Yulia free (is) that the president of Ukraine will allow her to get medical treatment outside Ukraine, mainly in Germany," Yatsenuk said.

The fate of Tymoshenko, Yanukovych´s biggest political rival, may yet be the biggest obstacle to signing the agreements between Ukraine and the EU.