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On 25 April, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius, Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands Frans Timmermans and the Minister for European Affairs of Denmark Nicolai Wammen issued a statement, acknowledging the progress that was being made by Ukraine and expressing hope that Ukraine would continue to pursue democratic reforms, enabling to further deepen the country’s political and economic relations with the European Union.

“The goal of our visit is not to educate or teach the Ukrainian people, but to assure them that the European Union is Ukraine’s reliable partner and will help the country to build a state based on European values. The signature of an Association Agreement would bound up the future of Ukraine with the European Union, entrench the European aspirations of Kyiv, and provide guidelines for the further development of the state, Linkevičius said.

The EU Ministers met with the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych and the Minister for Foreign Affairs Leonid Kozhara, as well as with members of the opposition and representatives of non-governmental organizations.

The head of the Lithuanian diplomacy underlined that Ukraine must not lose its momentum for reforms in order for a signature of the agreement during the Eastern Partnership Summit on 28 and 29 November in Vilnius to become possible.

Even though Ukraine finalised negotiations on the Association Agreement with the European Union in the end of 2011, the country has to live up to the expectations of the EU and achieve more progress in implementing various reforms to be able to sign this agreement at the Vilnius Summit.

The Ministers also stressed the importance of the roles of the former President of the European Parliament Pat Cox and of the former Polish President Alexander Kwaśniewski in addressing the problem of selective justice and in implementing judicial reforms in Ukraine.

“The signature of the Association Agreement would open a new chapter in the relationship with Ukraine and other partners, and would ensure closer ties with the European Union,” Linkevičius noted.