Why was the Prime Minister Tymoshenko’s visit to NATO headquarters shrouded in secrecy, as opposed to her visits to various EU institutions? Will Tymoshenko really help Ukraine obtain MAP status at the summit in Bucharest? What should the Ukrainian government do to achieve this goal?
“Tymoshenko has honestly fulfilled her agreements with the president about this and confirmed Ukraine’s intentions to join the MAP. To my mind, she entered an expected level of engagement in the matter of Euro-Atlantic integration. This is not her personal priority. In this respect, she is just fulfilling the coalition agreements. So, no one should have expected that she would transform her visit into a one-person gala show at NATO. For me the format we saw is quite natural. Mission accomplished. And the meetings in the EU institutions were the main content of the visit. They were planned as such.”
“Speaking about Ukraine joining the MAP in Bucharest, I have to say that Tymoshenko has done what she had to do at this stage. Let’s not forget that we have a president who, according to the Constitution of Ukraine, controls external political activities. The president is moving much more single- mindedly toward Euro-Atlantic integration, and he has the necessary power to continue this activity. That is why we should not expect Tymoshenko to head the process of Euro-Atlantic integration, making it into her own priority. We can only wish the prime minister to be more active and creative in the area of NATO issues. But we have to face the reality.”
“The president’s position on the MAP is known. He defended it in the process of signing the Declaration of National Unity. But today the time of quality diplomatic efforts has arrived. The president, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and our embassies in NATO countries have to work with the governments of the countries who are still doubtful, and with those who have not made their minds up yet. At the same time Ukraine has to demonstrate certain progress. The entire totality of facts and continuation of the reforms that have begun in the area of security will be taken into consideration by NATO while making its decision. In this sense, official visits play a certain role.”
“NATO issues are within the scope of competence of Hryhorii Nemyria, Deputy Prime Minister for European and International Integration. But his functions are directed chiefly at coordinating internal government activities, implementing necessary reforms, in particular, making sure that the annual Ukraine-NATO plans are being implemented. This is also important for Ukraine’s transformation. It must be noted that there is still no evaluation of the accomplishment of the Ukraine-NATO 2007 plan. If it shows that Ukraine is significantly lagging in accomplishing the goals of last year’s plan, this will become a negative argument affecting the MAP decision as well. And the legislative component will certainly be evaluated negatively because parliament was not working for most of the year.”
“Speaking about joining the MAP in Bucharest, it is not necessary for the decision on that issue to be made at the summit. It may happen before or after the summit. I foresee it as being totally dependent on the government’s stability in Ukraine. If both the government and the coalition prove viable, or at least don’t disintegrate until the end of this year, then Ukraine will join the MAP by the end of the year.
