Polish president concerned over possible delay in Ukraine’s EU association

Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski is concerned with a possible delay of Ukraine’s integration into the European Union, the Polish press agency reported. “Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski stressed that Poland firmly supports Ukraine’s integration into the European structures and at the same time expressed his concern over a possible delay in this process,” the agency cited a statement from the Polish national Security Council. President of Poland, which currently holds the rotating chair in the European Union, met on Thursday with Ukraine’s Secretary of National Security and Defense Council Raisa Bogatyrova. The Polish president also told Bogatytrova that it is vital for Ukraine to “observe standards of a democratic state as it is an important element of the European integration,” the statement added. Ukraine holds long-running negotiations on the Association Agreement with the EU. On October 20, the parties agreed on all the key aspects of the trade related part of the Association Agreement during a course of negotiations in Brussels. But tension between Ukraine and the EU erupted after President Viktor Yanukovych’s political rival Yulia Tymoshenko received a seven-year prison sentence on charges of abuse of office on October 11. The EU and the United States have described the trial as politically motivated and Moscow said it had a “clear anti-Russian subtext."