European Voice: Time for a new approach to Ukraine
The European Union faces deadlock with Ukraine. After negotiations on a deep and comprehensive free-trade agreement (DCFTA) were completed last year, the EU indicated that the agreement could come into force only if Ukraine reversed the “stark deterioration of democracy and the rule of law”. In practice, this meant that as long as opposition politicians such as Yulia Tymoshenko and Yuri Lutsenko remained behind bars, the DCFTA would not move forward. Ukraine’s parliamentary elections on 28 October fell short of European standards, so the situation looks even less promising.