Ukraine unlikely to get EU entry invite

Date: 18/03/1999

By Simon Taylor

THE EU will not invite Ukraine to join the ranks of possible candidates for Union membership even if the Chernobyl reactor is closed on schedule, according to senior European Commission officials.

Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma has made EU membership for the former Soviet Union state his key foreign policy aim, but Commission officials insist that the existing structures for relations with Kiev are adequate and say the Union has no intention of expanding the list of potential members.

" We have so many candidate countries and the machinery cannot handle any more", said one, who added that Union governments were not prepared to create any new structures - or "waiting rooms" - for countries which wanted to move towards closer links with the EU.

" The partnership and cooperation agreement is a very good agreement which allows us to do all we want in all fields," he said, referring to the year-old agreement which offers a forum for assistance and information exchange.

But frustration is growing in Kiev that the EU is not prepared to move beyond the existing relationship.

" Integration between Ukraine and the EU is a very stimulating factor for the economic and legislative process. It would guarantee economic security and democracy," said the country's ambassador to the Union Boris Hudyma last week.

Relations between Kiev and the EU have come under increasing strain recently because of Ukraine's slow progress in closing Chernobyl.

Last week, Energy Commissioner Christos Papoutsis criticised the country for deciding to reopen part of the plant after a three-month closure . He warned that the decision could "seriously increase the nuclear safety risks".

Ukraine had pledged to close Chernobyl by next year in line with an agreement with the G7 countries.

But plans to shut the plant have fallen behind, with Kiev insisting that it needs hundreds of millions of euro in international aid which western lenders such as the European Investment Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development are reluctant to grant.

Hudyma admitted that Ukraine would struggle to close Chernobyl on time. "Chernobyl cannot close by the year 2000 because work has not started," he said.

The ambassador attributed the delay to the cost of dealing with the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster in 1984, which has swallowed up 15% of Ukraine's national budget.

But the Commission insists that the obstacles to closing the plant are not financial. "The problems are not that great," said one Commission official." We just need a clear commitment from Kiev."