European Union delegation says it will maintain political dialogue with Ukraine (02/16/03)

European Union delegation says it will maintain political dialogue with Ukraine

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Signaling that it would maintain a political dialogue with Ukraine at the highest levels, a delegation of European Union officials led by Secretary General of the EU Council Javier Solana met with Ukraine's President Leonid Kuchma during a one-day visit to Kyiv on February 7.

The EU "troika," composed of Mr. Solana, Greek First Deputy Foreign Minister Tassos Giannitsis and Italian Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Roberto Antonioni told Ukrainian leaders, including Mr. Kuchma, that an artificial border with Ukraine would not arise as Poland becomes the European Union's most eastern member-state in 2004.

"Our goal is not to create a new wall and divide our continent. On the contrary, it is the integration and rapprochement of Europe," explained Mr. Giannitsis, whose country holds the revolving presidency of the EU, which Italy will assume in July.

Mr. Giannitsis invited President Kuchma to a meeting of EU leaders called the European Conference and Council for Cooperation, scheduled for April 16-17 in Athens.

The delegation visit came as the United States indicated that it would continue to politically isolate the Ukrainian head of state in the aftermath of the Kolchuha scandal, in which Ukraine's head of state is accused of authorizing the sale of an air defense system to Iraq in contravention of United Nations sanctions.

During a press conference on U.S.-Ukraine relations held the same day as the EU visit, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Carlos Pascual said that the U.S. would not plan any meetings with President Kuchma in the future. However, he said that Washington strongly supports continuing a dialogue with Ukraine through members of the presidential administration and the Ukrainian government.

Earlier in the week Mr. Kuchma told journalists during one of his infrequent press conferences that his effort to rekindle a dialogue with Washington in the aftermath of the Kolchuha crisis had proved fruitless thus far.

In a meeting with the three EU leaders, President Kuchma said Ukraine would move to full EU membership in practical, concrete steps.

"Our goal is to make less declarations, but to complete the maximum implementation of the tasks required for achieving European standards," Mr. Kuchma told the EU delegation.

While Ukraine has reconciled itself to a decadelong process before it will be ready to enter the EU, it is still pursuing associate membership, possibly by 2005. The EU troika said it would continue to help Ukraine to enter the World Trade Organization as a first step in that process.

Meanwhile Mr. Solana emphasized that the EU wants more constructive relations with Ukraine and urged Kyiv to move forward with political reforms. The EU Council's secretary general said the country must develop and strictly adhere to basic requirements of democracy, including an independent media, if it is serious about EU membership.

"European membership demands upholding the most fundamental element of a democratic society - freedom of the press," explained Mr. Solana, who also mentioned the need to improve relations between the Ukrainian government and the opposition and to further court reform.

Mr. Giannitsis said the EU's policy was not to lay down a broad standard for a prospective member to meet, but a "differentiated approach," which presents the possibility for specific membership requirements according to each country and its situation.

Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs Anatolii Zlenko warned that a new wall, which he called the "Schengen Wall" could separate Ukraine from Europe after Poland enters the EU next year. Mr. Zlenko's allusion was to the Schengen Treaty passed by the EU several years ago, which opened up borders and visa-free travel among EU members but left citizens of neighboring countries without the advantage. Ukrainians, who currently do not need a visa to enter Poland, will have to obtain one beginning next year.

Mr. Zlenko also noted that Ukraine understands that it must show that it is a solid partner of the European Union and noted that "the threads that bind us must be strengthened" before full membership is a plausible option.

Commentators in Ukraine's press observed, however, that the EU representatives avoided using the term "EU membership" during their visit, sticking to words such as "rapprochement" and "integration." The newspaper "Den" (Day) pointed out in a February 8 article that there is a growing awareness that EU membership may not be in store for Ukraine. It stated that "Representatives of EU structures and individual EU member-states noted that there is a need to look realistically at the perspectives, that the idea here is not for political integration of Ukraine, but for tight cooperation."

First Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Oleksander Chalyi indicated that Ukraine is well aware of the current outlook for Ukraine. In remarks to the EU delegation, Mr. Chalyi stated that Ukraine supports an initiative by Poland to offer a "neighbor plan" to Ukraine, which would include specific details on a timetable for "associate" status, as well as some recognition of Ukraine's prospects for full EU membership in the future.

"We welcome the idea as it meets our main concern that after EU enlargement there must be a new formula of relations between Ukraine and the enlarged EU," said Mr. Chalyi.

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