Ukraine lags behind Moldova, Georgia in cooperation with EU, - progress report

Over the past year, Moldova and Georgia have cooperated "quite well" with the EU, under the European Neighbourhood Policy while Ukraine, which used to be the front-runner, is lagging behind, according to progress reports under the European Neighbourhood Policy that were presented on Wednesday by Enlargement and Neighbourhood Commissioner Stefan Fule.

According to the ENP report on Ukraine, this country has been able to negotiate an Association Agreement and a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, which diplomats from both sides consider as the most advanced of their kind. Both documents have been initialled last March but remain unsigned. The key conditions for signing them are to address the problem of selective justice, deal with the democratic shortcomings stemming from the October parliamentary elections, and advance judiciary reforms. EU officials also recommend the Ukrainian authorities to step up the fight against conflict of interest and corruption, including in the judicial system, and to reverse the backsliding which occurred last year on public procurement and budget transparency.