Europe's difficult relations with Ukraine

According to her lawyer, former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko has gone on a hunger strike to protest at the conditions of her imprisonment. The EU must rebuke President Victor Yanukovich without losing Ukraine as a potential partner, the conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes: "Above all the eastern EU countries, particularly Poland, would like to preserve their ties with Kiev so as to prevent it from retreating even further into Moscow's sphere of influence. They are pushing for the Free Trade and Association Agreements with the EU not to be jeopardised despite the problems. ... Others, including the German Government, believe that in view of the flagrant legal violations in Ukraine the already sluggish process cannot simply be continued through to ratification by all 27 EU countries. ... People like Yanukovich will come and go, but Europe remains. For that reason the association process should be continued at a reduced pace, so as to be able to renew it in future when the time is right. But Europe must also react to Yanukovich's provocations - if only to maintain its credibility."

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU Policy, » Human rights, » Ukraine, » Europe
All available articles from » Konrad Schuller

» To the complete press review of Wednesday, April 25, 2012