by Martin Banks
The international condemnation comes after the Ukrainian Parliament failed on Wednesday to pass a bill on the release of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko for treatment abroad.
The parliament decided to postpone decisions regarding laws on Tymoshenko and also legislation on the electoral and judicial systems - the three conditions set by the EU for signature of an accession agreement.
It now means that the chances of a landmark Association Agreement with Ukraine will be signed at a 28-29 November summit appear to be slimmer than ever.
The Ukrainian Parliament closed its session yesterday without being able to pass a bill allowing for Tymoshenko’s release.
The next session of the Parliament is on 19 November, one day after the meeting of EU foreign ministers which is due to decide whether the conditions have been met for signing the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement (AA) at the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius.
Another development this week in what has been branded a display of “selective justice” is the sudden criminal probe opened against Tymoshenko’s lawyer, Sergiy Vlasenko, on suspicion that he beat up his ex-wife in 2010.
On Wednesday night, the European Parliament's special delegation to Ukraine - the assembly´s former president Pat Cox and former Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski - reported to the leaders of the Parliament's political groups in Brussels on their mission in Kiev.
Germany has made Tymoshenko's release a condition for signing the EU pact with Ukraine.
Lithuania, currently chairing the EU and a former Soviet territory, has argued strongly against tying such a strategic decision to the fate of one person.
Poland and Sweden have also been strong advocates of getting the deal done with Ukraine.
Reaction was swift to the failure of Ukraine´s parliament to adopt a new which would have enabled Tymoshenko to be released.
Leading Polish MEP Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, President of the European People´s Party, said, "Today's lack of decision by the Verkhovna Rada is a clear signal of a lack of political will on the part of the Ukrainian authorities to sign the association agreement with the EU.
"Five days before the final decision of EU foreign affairs ministers on whether to authorise the signing of the agreement at the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius, the issue of selective justice and the two other conditions for association with the EU are still not met."
"President Yanukovych seems to want to take away the hope of millions of Ukrainian citizens for social progress and a European future for the country."
Saryusz-Wolski, a former chairman of the European parliament´s foreign affairs committee, added, "The delaying tactics of the Ukrainian authorities and Yanukovych’s belief that EU leaders will turn a blind eye to Ukraine not meeting the benchmarks set by the EU foreign affairs council in December 2012, have led to a situation where, at this stage, there seems to be no more hope in the EU of signing the association agreement with Ukraine.
"Growing pressure imposed on other potential candidates in presidential elections in 2015 are only raising more doubts."
The MEP added, "In the case of the failure, what remains for Ukrainian citizens is to make a wise choice of a new leader for their country in the 2015 elections, to continue reforms, to implement European standards and to strive to repair mistakes made by the current president and the Ukrainian government."
Further scathing criticism of Ukraine came from Greens/EFA co-president Rebecca Harms, who said, "This latest development is a very clear setback for the prospects of signing an Association Agreement.
"The postponement of a decision on Tymoshenko at this time appears to be a provocation to the EU and, in particular, the European Parliament, which has actively intervened to seek the release of Tymoshenko for medical treatment," added the German deputy.
"All the more so given Parliament's special delegation to Ukraine was at the Ukrainian parliament today. The announcement that five new opposition politicians will also face charges shows that the EU's call to end the selective justice in the country is not taken seriously. This will weigh heavily on the Vilnius Summit later this month."
She added, "While the conclusion of an Association Agreement with Ukraine is clearly central to the interests of both parties, it cannot come at any price. The EU cannot give way.
"The release or at least the treatment of Tymoshenko in Germany was always a precondition for signing the agreement.
"When they meet on Monday, EU foreign ministers must send a clear signal to Ukraine that the government in Kiev must clearly commit to the rule of law. Only if all terms and conditions are met, can the agreement can be signed."
Elsewhere, Lithuania's Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius said on Wednesday that Yanukovych holds the key.
"I believe Yanukovich can still salvage the agreement, if he takes lead and responsibility," said Linkievicius.
"The failure to adopt the law means that the results we had been expecting haven't been achieved. Until there are results, it is very hard to hope for success. If Ukraine is determined to seek signing of the Association Agreement, it must show results," the minister said, speaking on the phone from India.
Peter Stano, spokesperson of EU Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle, said on Wednesday that what is expected from Ukraine is that the draft legislation regarding the general prosecutors’ office and the draft legislation regarding parliamentary elections, which passed first reading last week, are urgently adopted on second reading and promulgated “without delay”.
On the Tymoshenko case, Stano said there should be a “decisive move” to solve the issue, without elaborating.
Speaking to the Brussels-based website, EUobserver on Wednesday, Tymoshenko´s lawyer, Sergiy Vlasenko said, "They activated my case as another bright example of selective justice."
He said they did it as a PR stunt to force the EU parliament to give a negative verdict, helping Yanukovych to blame the Vilnius failure on the EU.
"I have no doubt in my mind Yanukovych has decided not to sign the treaty … But this enables him to say: 'Look. I did all my homework. I adopted a lot of pro-EU laws, except in the area of politically motivated cases. Now you should sign because of the Russian pressure on my country'."
Vlasenko said there is "a one percent chance" his case is a trick by Ukraine to extract last-minute concessions from the EU, for instance, on trade tariffs.
By: N. Peter Kramer
