Two key statements were made before President Viktor Yanukovych’s visit to Moscow. First, the guarantor of the Constitution said that Ukraine is going to gradually join the regulations of the Customs Union. “A huge market for Ukrainian goods is located there. We are doing everything for Ukraine to have harmonious relations with the members of the Customs Union, not only in the economic sphere, but humanitarian, scientific, and social spheres as well,” Yanukovych said. This statement evoked heated debate among the experts, especially taking into consideration the fact that back in 2010 the Regionnaires determined the European integration as top priority in the country’s foreign policy on the legislative level. Ukraine has achieved only partial results in this direction. The Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and Ukraine has only been paraphied, and there is still no visa waiver regime. It has been mentioned many times in Europe that the criminal cases launched against the oppositionists in Ukraine, in particular Yulia Tymoshenko and Yurii Lutsenko, are the main hindrance on the way to European integration for Ukraine. Strange as it may seem, Yanukovych’s statement concerning the Customs Union has not been followed by any proper reaction from the opposition, which is another reason to ponder over the quality of the alternative to the ruling power.
The second statement was made in Europe. The resolution of the European Parliament concerning the situation in Ukraine, in particular, says that the parliamentary elections which were held in the end of October were a step backwards in the democratic development of Ukraine. But there is more. MEPs have included in the resolution the call upon Ukraine’s democratic forces not to form coalitions with nationalist-oriented parties, in particular, with Svoboda [Freedom] Party. “The European Parliament is concerned about the rising nationalistic sentiment in Ukraine which led to the election of the Svoboda Party to the Parliament of Ukraine. The EP recalls that racist, anti-Semitic and xenophobic views go against the EU’s fundamental values and principles,” the resolution reads. A demonstrative thing in this situation is that the MEPs did not support the analogical call to form coalitions with the Communist Party. This is proof that the European Parliament misunderstands the Ukrainian context, i.e., where many present-day problems in Ukraine come from.
At the same time one more sensational event took place in Ukraine. The acting First Vice Prime Minister Valerii Khoroshkovsky has submitted a statement of his resignation to the president. The reason for this decision is Khoroshkovsky’s disagreement with appointment of Mykola Azarov the prime minister again. He thinks that this person is “unable to carry out economic reforms and protect the state’s strategic course towards the European integration.”
