The European Union and Ukraine held a summit in Kiev on Friday with a seeming primary goal of papering over differences between the two sides, according to news reports on Thursday. The former Soviet republic's upcoming parliamentary elections were the top issue mentioned by speakers of both sides during opening remarks for a planned day of meetings and speeches in the Ukrainian capital, DPA reported. Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko promised European envoys the September vote would be without fraud, saying "I give my personal guarantee...(the election) will be free and fair." Javier Solana, EU General Secretary, in a meeting with one of Ukraine's political party leaders, called on Ukrainian politicians of all stripes "to form a government quickly after the elections are over." Solana's wish, according to Ukrainian observers, is unlikely to come to pass, as the last time Ukraine elected a parliament, in 2006, the legislature required nearly six months to form a working majority, paralysing the country's government and sparking a constitutional crisis. Ukrainian media identified as the most contentious issues to be discussed at the summit a EU effort to damp down Kiev's declared intention to join the customs union by 2013, and a Ukrainian challenge to high EU import taxes on steel pipe, a top Ukrainian export. Currently the official EU attitude towards Ukraine ever becoming a member is a slow step-by-step process with no set deadlines - a policy seen in Kiev as a Brussels dodge to keep Ukraine out of the EU indefinitely. Yushchenko repeated his country's position, describing Ukraine's intention to join the EU "inevitable...and following naturally from historical realities." An EU announcement made public after the conference stuck to generalities and avoided any mention of timetables for Ukrainian accession, saying in part that "the leaders of the EU support Ukraine's European choice, and will do everything possible to develop European standards within the country." The summit - 11th formal meeting between the EU and Ukraine - also produced a joint statement describing the state of relations between Kiev and the EU as "a healthy partnership," but no substantial agreements.
