EU's Fuele Expects Tymoshenko's Release On Medical Grounds

The European Union's enlargement commissioner, Stefan Fuele (left), pictured here with President Viktor Yanukovych in September.

BRUSSELS -- The European Union's enlargement commissioner, Stefan Fuele, says he expects Ukraine to allow jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko to go to Germany for medical treatment before a November 28-29 EU summit.

Fuele told reporters on October 15 he "definitely" expects that to have happened before the summit in Vilnius, where Ukraine hopes to sign an association and free-trade agreement with the European Union.

EU governments have linked the release of Tymoshenko, whose imprisonment is widely seen as political, to the signing of the agreement.

President Viktor Yanukovych said on October 11 he believed that "a final decision on how to solve this question" will be made "in the near future."

Tymoshenko was jailed for seven years in 2011 for abuse of office. She says Yanukovych orchestrated her conviction to sideline her from politics.

With reporting from Reuters and Ft.com