The European Union is not considering an association agreement with Ukraine over what it regards as political persecution in the country, French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said on Thursday.
“The human rights situation in Ukraine, in particular political trials, arouses serious concern within the EU. Clearly, the signing of an EU-Ukraine association agreement is not being considered in this situation,” he said.
The bilateral deal aims to establish political association and economic integration between the EU and Ukraine, but European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said in December the agreement is unlikely to be signed before Ukrainian parliamentary elections due in October. The trial and subsequent seven-year jail term of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, which Europe sees as politically motivated, also became a hurdle.
Tymoshenko was jailed for pushing through a 2009 gas deal with Russia that Ukrainian authorities say has caused multi-billion-dollar losses to the national economy and deny accusations by Western powers and Russia that the trial was politically motivated.
