Support for Ukraine and other so-called transitional states is waning in Bonn, Brussels, and many other European capitals. A slower EU expansion to the east may defer any practical or psychological divisions between the EU and some former Soviet states, but general fatigue and growing lack of interest in Germany and elsewhere does not bode well for relations with Ukraine. A model corresponding to the special partnership developed for strategic purposes between Ukraine and NATO in EU-Ukrainian relations is unlikely. EU-Ukrainian relations are characterized by more ambivalence in Europe, and by a growing recalcitrance and desire for exceptional treatment of the part of the Ukrainian government. The EU's track record in assisting and engaging Ukraine and other eastern European states is inconclusive.
Responsibility also falls on the Ukraine itself, however.
At present, the primary instrument establishing and directing relations between the EU and Ukraine is the June 1994 Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. In addition to promoting trade, technical assistance, and foreign investment, the EU seeks through this agreement and others, to establish and enhance mechanisms to combat organized crime, interdict drug trafficking, and establish environmental protection regimes along shared borders. But unlike other such agreements with central and eastern European states, there are no provisions for Ukraine's eventual accession. Substantive economic cooperation between the EU and Ukraine is negligible, however. Current steel and textile agreements significantly restrict Ukraine's access to European markets.