Stefan Fule, European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy, has reiterated that for the association agreement with Ukraine to be signed at the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius, Ukraine must implement the recommendations of the Council of the European Union from December 10, 2012, according to Official web site of Yulia Tymoshenko.
"In the East, the priority is a successful Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius, which would mark a milestone and a 'point of no return' in anchoring our Eastern European partners to the European Union. I hope this will also include an Association Agreement with Ukraine, if Ukraine complies with the benchmarks set by the European Union's Foreign Affairs Council," Stefan Fule at the annual conference of Polish ambassadors in Warsaw, Poland, today.
The European commissioner underscored that liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law are at the core of the Eastern Partnership. "These are the shared values that we will always defend," he said.
However, Stefan Fule noted that the EU can only offer incentive for reforms in partner countries. "However, the European Union cannot impose reforms on partners. It can only support them. The European Union alone cannot shape events in our neighborhood. There are many other factors at play. Ultimately, it is our partners themselves who have to make their own choices and exercise their own political will," he said.
The complete text of Stefan Fule’s speech "European Neighborhood Policy – Priorities and Directions for Change" delivered at the annual conference of Polish ambassadors in Warsaw, Poland, is available here.
