The European Union declined on Tuesday to offer Ukraine a clear path to EU membership, frustrating Ukrainian officials who said the bloc had thrown away a golden opportunity to stabilise its eastern frontier and encourage political and economic reform in Kiev.
A communiqué issued at an EU-Ukrainian summit set out a framework for closer ties between Kiev and the 27-nation bloc, but omitted the crucial words “membership perspective” to describe Ukraine’s future relationship with the EU.
Ukraine, a country of 46m people wedged between the EU and Russia, had hoped that Russia’s military assault on Georgia last month, and its subsequent attempt to partition the former Soviet republic, might prompt the EU to go the extra mile for Ukraine.
Tuesday’s communiqué affirmed the EU’s commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and held out the prospect of agreements on free trade and easier travel for Ukrainians to EU countries, but stopped short of a promise of EU accession.
“Be clear that this agreement shuts no door, and maybe it opens some doors. This is the most we could offer, but I believe it to be a substantial step,” Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s president, told reporters.
Diplomats said Germany and the Netherlands, and to a lesser extent Belgium, were the most reluctant to state clearly that Ukraine could one day join the EU.
The three Baltic states, the Czech Republic, Poland, Sweden and the UK, while recognising that Ukrainian accession was not an immediate possibility, all sympathised with its aspirations.
France, which currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency, appreciated the need to send positive signals to Kiev, but was unwilling to make a strong commitment to Ukraine without a shift in the German and Dutch positions, diplomats said.
Ukraine did its cause little good last week when the ruling coalition split in acrimony, enhancing the nation’s reputation for political instability.
For now, Ukraine will have to make do with an “association agreement” with the EU, a pact that for Balkan countries such as Albania, Macedonia and Serbia represents the first step on the path to membership, but for Ukraine carries no such implications.
The association agreement is expected to be ready in about a year, and President Viktor Yushchenko said on Tuesday that he looked forward to signing it. “We’ve made remarkable progress over the past 12 months,” he said, making it clear he had not abandoned hope Ukraine could eventually join the EU. But some Ukrainian officials said their government might be wary of signing the association accord, lest this be interpreted in certain EU capitals as Kiev’s formal acceptance of a status falling permanently short of membership.
EU officials put a positive gloss on Tuesday’s summit, stressing the communiqué did not explicitly exclude EU accession. But Ukraine fears pressure for stronger action in support of Kiev’s aspirations may fade if the crisis in Georgia calms down.
