Tymoshenko's fate continues to worry Europe / Grigory Vasilenko / RIA Novosti

The European Union and Ukraine continue to discuss the fate of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. While in New York in September, President Yanukovych acknowledged that several issues remained on the path to Ukraine's European integration, including legislation on the prosecutor's office and elections, as well as "the question of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko." Tymoshenko is serving a seven-year sentence for abuse of office in concluding a gas contract with Russia.

The decision on Tymoshenko must be made by October 21, said MEP Pavlo Koval during his visit to Kyiv. On that day, the EU Council at the level of foreign ministers must decide on signing the association agreement with Ukraine. The signing itself is possible at the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius on November 28-29.

However, the need to release Tymoshenko is not recorded in official documents. Her lawyer, Serhiy Vlasenko, also admits this: in dry diplomatic language, the Tymoshenko issue is described as the elimination of the consequences of selective justice. The government has long tried to pretend that Tymoshenko does not fall under these criteria, because her name is not directly mentioned. So that Yanukovych would understand that it was about her, the demand for her release was included in the resolutions of PACE and the European Parliament, and representatives of European countries directly stated this, Vlasenko recalls. Without resolving the Tymoshenko issue, signing is impossible, said Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite. "I hope that no one in Ukraine will think that we are lowering the bar," said EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule, pointing out that no one in the EU has forgotten about the former Prime Minister.

However, representatives of the presidential Party of Regions insist that there are no grounds for release. This is the opinion of the majority in the faction, says Verkhovna Rada deputy Vadym Kolesnichenko, and the president cannot interfere in the judicial system without grounds. Officially, Tymoshenko's release is not a condition for signing the association agreement, her name does not appear in the conclusions and recommendations of the EU Council, the implementation of which is necessary for signing the association agreement, this case appears in statements and declarations of individual European politicians, notes Irina Berezhnaya, a regional deputy responsible for harmonizing Ukrainian legislation with European legislation.

One way out could be sending Tymoshenko abroad for treatment. The Ukrainian authorities, the FT claims, could let Tymoshenko go to Germany for treatment, but there is no talk of her official release. Another observer from the European Parliament, former Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, said the same: "I think they will accept our proposal, it is well known: she must go abroad for an operation and treatment."

Tymoshenko, of course, cannot dictate herself, but treatment abroad, which the law does not prevent, will be only the first step, she will seek full rehabilitation, insists Vlasenko. The president, in his opinion, can make any decision, if necessary, the parliament will obey him.

It is difficult to say at this stage what Yanukovych's final decision will be, Ukrainian political scientists Dmytro Ponamarchuk and Volodymyr Fesenko agree. According to Ponamarchuk, the president will not release Tymoshenko, and this can be explained by the fact that the agreement is being signed by representatives of the executive branch, her name does not appear in their demands, and the EU will be forced to agree to this in order to prevent Ukraine from getting closer to Russia. There is a split in Yanukovych's entourage over Tymoshenko, says Fesenko: there is a high probability that everything will remain as is with her, the agreement, taking into account the Russian factor, can be signed with the condition that her issue will be resolved later, since it will not enter into force immediately - ratification by parliaments will be required.

Tymoshenko hinders integration