Kiev's EU ties weaken

Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko bids farewell to Brussels, headlines Dziennik Gazeta Prawna. Until recently, Yushchenko was seen as someone who forge closer links between Ukraine and the West. “However, four years later and Yushchenko’s European policy has turned out to be a big disappointment. Integration with the EU hasn’t moved an inch since the time of the Orange revolution”, observes the Warsaw daily. When Yushchenko came into office, there was talk of Ukraine joining the EU in 2015. In February 2005, Brussels and Kiev signed the so-called Action Plan which was supposed to create a free trade area between the EU and Ukraine. But the Ukrainian elites divided into hostile camps engaged in constant warfare. “Today, it’s actually hard to determine who is responsible for European policy”, an anonymous EC official has observed. But Ukraine should not take all the blame for lack of progress with the EU. Dziennik GP points out that “many European countries, especially France, do not conceal their aversion towards Ukraine’s European ambitions.”