KIEV--Top European Union officials were meeting Monday with
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in talks aimed at speeding
economic and political reforms, as heavy fighting around a key town
in the country's east again tested a fragile cease-fire between
Kiev's forces and pro-Russia separatists.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker arrived in
Kiev from Luxembourg in the morning and immediately joined Mr.
Poroshenko and European Council President Donald Tusk for talks at
the presidential office.
They are expected to be joined by Ukrainian Prime Minister
Arseniy Yatsenyuk. A number of other senior Brussels officials will
be in Kiev to attend a National Reform conference on Tuesday,
including the EU's point people on energy and economic issues.
European officials have said they would stress the importance of
pressing ahead on reforms, including the thorny issue of
decentralization of powers to the eastern provinces currently
controlled by the separatists.
Under the latest version of the cease-fire deal reached in the
Belarusian capital of Minsk in February, Kiev pledged to offer
greater autonomy to the eastern regions, as well as to restore
economic and other links. So far, however, progress on those areas
has been slow.
Fighting has subsided across most of the front line. But
monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe reported late Sunday that they had witnessed some of the
heaviest fighting since February around Shyrokyne, a strategic town
on the outskirts of Mariupol, the largest city in the region still
under Kiev's control.
In a report, the OSCE mission reported 69 shots fired from
tanks, as well as hundreds of mortar rounds fired. Heavy incoming
artillery fire from separatist lines landed about 300 meters (328
yards) from the OSCE monitoring post, forcing them to relocate. The
OSCE said it saw several rebel tanks and other armored vehicles
massing in the area.
The continued fighting could pose another challenge for Kiev,
which has struggled to turn from the war to accelerating economic
and political overhauls.
Brussels has acknowledged a slew of initiatives in Ukraine in
recent weeks to beef up the fight against corruption, hand money
and some powers to the regions and liberalize the energy
sector.
One senior EU official said Monday that the bloc's continued
financial support depended on continued momentum in Kiev in driving
the domestic reforms.
The bloc has so far agreed to EUR3.4 billion ($3.7 billion) in
balance of payments assistance for Ukraine, around half of which
has been disbursed. The EU has said it could eventually make up to
EUR11 billion available through various loans and grants in coming
years.
The official said that Ukraine must be "beyond reproach" on
fulfilling its obligations under February's Minsk cease-fire
agreement so as not to give any room for Russia to renege on its
commitments. That includes amending Ukraine's constitution to allow
greater autonomy for the east.
The weekend fighting around Mariupol was a "stark reminder," the
official said of the continued threat posed by the separatists and
their Russian backers, showing the importance of Ukraine doing its
part to hold the cease-fire in place.
The EU is expected to announce some stepped-up assistance for
longstanding efforts to clean up the area around the Chernobyl
nuclear site and to help smaller Ukrainian firms win
investment.
However Mr. Juncker and Mr. Tusk are unlikely to meet Mr.
Poroshenko's demands for an EU peacekeeping presence in eastern
Ukraine or for quicker progress on granting Ukrainians visa free
access to the 28-nation bloc, a priority issue for Ukraine.
There is "no appetite for sending peacekeepers," the official
said.
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires