An exclusive interview of German Ambassador to Ukraine Hans-Jurgen Heimsoeth with the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency Q: What main mistakes, in your opinion, is Ukraine making on its road to Europe? A: You must really want to integrate into European structures and do everything necessary for this. It is not enough just to write laws. It is also necessary to take efforts to ensure their implementation. The European Union does not accept a situation when they say "X" and make "Y." It would be a big mistake to think that the EU, due to Ukraine’s significant potential and its fundamental will to close cooperation, will look at the situation through its fingers. Q: In your opinion, what is the future fate of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU? Will Germany give its agreement to the signing and ratification of this document in the current situation? A: At this moment I see no signs that the agreement will be signed. All EU member states should give their agreement to this. Obviously, no one reads what representatives of European countries, including Germany, say, what the European Union constantly repeats. A statement by the British Embassy was published on Interfax Web site on April 24. I do not know whether they actually read an article by five foreign ministers – of Germany, Britain, Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic - and whether they realized their importance. All possible terms or the early use of certain parts of the agreement, as stated by the Ukrainian side, have no grounds. It’s necessary to realize that only the EU Council of Ministers takes a decision on the signing, not the European Commission. It is the Council of Ministers of 27 EU member states, and the decision must be unanimous. Q: Will Germany send its observers for the upcoming parliamentary elections in Ukraine? A: It is good that the Ukrainian side has sent the invitation to observers on time. I am confident that there will be a considerable number of German observers as part of the OSCE/ODIHR mission. In addition, representatives of our country could also be present in other groups of international observers. Q: Can we expect that Europe will recognize the results of parliamentary elections in a situation when the imprisoned leading representatives of the Ukrainian opposition will not participate in them? A: I will not rush things regarding the assessment of the elections, which will be made by international observers. Q: The leadership of the Prosecutor General's Office stated earlier that Kyiv and Berlin were in talks about former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s possible treatment in a German clinic. Are these negotiations continuing? At what stage are they? A: The Ukrainian side wanted to study the question about whether there are legal possibilities for Tymoshenko’s treatment abroad. I do not know whether there is the final result, although it seems that way. In my opinion, such a possibility exists. But we cannot ignore the fact that everything that happens around Tymoshenko and other convicted former government members has political, not just legal implications. The trials were not conducted in accordance with the minimum European requirements, and, in our opinion, they were selective and politically motivated. Therefore, purely legal and formal arguments will not give anything, especially in a country where the Constitution and many laws are not observed even by government agencies, including parliament. We realize that Ukraine is a country experiencing transformations, and we recognize that in many areas great efforts are being taken to modernize the government. A recent example would be the adoption of the Criminal Procedure Code and the law on public associations. But we will not allow tricking us. In the current situation the Ukrainian authorities should check what happened during the transportation of Tymoshenko to hospital and the use of force against her. The charges that have been announced must be investigated. We expect Ukraine, as a member of the Council of Europe and a member of the European Convention on Human Rights, to fully clarify the circumstances of this incident. Q: Will there be more visits by German doctors to examine and provide assistance to Tymoshenko? A: Visits by German doctors were made at the request of the patient Tymoshenko, and one more visit was made at the request of the Ukrainian government. I do not rule out that there will be other visits by German doctors, because Mrs. Tymoshenko’s health problem has not been solved, quite the contrary, it has aggravated. Unfortunately, the Ukrainian side has for many months understated the complexity of the patient’s health problem. Q: Are German government representatives planning soon to visit Ukraine and vice versa? A: There are currently no plans regarding high-level bilateral or multilateral meetings. It’s currently hard to say whether the European football championship will be an occasion for such meetings. Euro 2012 should give Ukraine a chance to demonstrate itself as a hospitable country open to the world. I think that Ukraine should pay special attention to making sure that such subjects as electoral justice, politically motivated trials and attitude towards the opposition do not overshadow Euro 2012.