Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has encouraged lawmakers to move ahead with pro-EU reforms by preparing draft legislation to reform the judiciary and law-enforcement bodies and to fight corruption.
In a speech to parliament on September 3, Yanukovych said the documents are needed for Ukrainian "success at the Vilnius summit."
Ukraine is expected to sign an EU Association Agreement, which includes a free-trade deal, at an EU meeting in the Lithuanian capital in November.
The EU has set criteria for democratic progress that it says Kyiv must meet if the agreements are to be signed.
The EU also wants Yanukovych to pardon former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
She is serving a seven-year prison term on charges her supporters say are politically motivated.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin is pressuring Kyiv to join the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan instead.
In a speech to parliament on September 3, Yanukovych said the documents are needed for Ukrainian "success at the Vilnius summit."
Ukraine is expected to sign an EU Association Agreement, which includes a free-trade deal, at an EU meeting in the Lithuanian capital in November.
The EU has set criteria for democratic progress that it says Kyiv must meet if the agreements are to be signed.
The EU also wants Yanukovych to pardon former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
She is serving a seven-year prison term on charges her supporters say are politically motivated.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin is pressuring Kyiv to join the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan instead.
