EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule has said the Ukrainian government must ensure former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s full-fledged participation in political processes, according to the Official web site of Yulia Tymoshenko.

"We would like to see her being fully a part of political life," Stefan Fule said following a meeting with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, Reuters news agency reported.

"We have been fully assured about his commitment to finding a solution," he added.

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"If the former prime minister is put into prison on the basis of a criminal code dating back to 1962, the Soviet era, then, despite our desire to sign an association agreement, we can’t guarantee that all the parliaments of EU member states will ratify this document," Stefan Fule said.

According to him, Ukraine has assured the European Union that former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko will not be convicted as a felon. Stefan Fule said he hopes the criminal code will be changed in order to allow Yulia Tymoshenko to continue to be active politically. “The most important point we have talked about is the decriminalization of that article," he said following his meeting with Viktor Yanukovych.

"If the solution is not found, although we are determined to finalize the negotiations [on the signing of an EU-Ukraine Association Agreement], it might be difficult. If the former prime minister is put into prison, the relationship will hardly be the same between the EU and Ukraine," he said.