Dissociative disorder

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UKRAINE’S efforts to reach an association agreement with the European Union have led to revolution, poisoned relations with Russia and caused war with Russian-backed separatists. After years of negotiations, Ukrainian and EU leaders at last signed the agreement in Kiev in March 2014, just after the Maidan revolution. But the deal may yet founder in a surprising place: the Netherlands. Dutch Eurosceptics have forced a plebiscite on whether to ratify it. The EU’s other 27 states have already done so; the Netherlands is the lone holdout, and most polls show that on April 6th “no” will probably win.

The referendum is not binding, but the Dutch government will have to respond to the outcome. Rejection would hobble European diplomacy and suggest that the EU is too fractured to maintain a common foreign policy in the face of Russian interference in Ukraine. And it would send a signal to Ukrainians that however much they want to be part of Europe, many Europeans want no part of them.

The campaign to block the association agreement began last summer when GeenPeil, a Eurosceptic social-media group, selected the issue as a test of the referendum law, which came into force on July 1st. It quickly gathered 470,000 online signatures, far more than the 300,000 needed to force a vote. Since the referendum was announced, it has transformed into an active campaign group, using volunteers to ensure that turnout reaches the 30% needed for the result to be valid.

Opponents of the Ukraine agreement regard it as forcing them into an alliance with a corrupt country requiring billions of euros in aid. Though it is largely a trade deal and does not allow Ukrainians to work in the EU, many Dutch, ignoring reassurances from the likes of Mark Rutte, the prime minister, regard it as a step towards EU membership and fear losing jobs to low-wage Ukrainians. “There’s a lot of distrust,” says Frank van Dalen, a political consultant who is working with GeenPeil. The referendum is, he says, one of the few ways for Dutch citizens to feel that “at least for once we have some control”.

http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21695890-dutch-referendum-threatens-eu-trade-deal-ukraine-dissociative-disorder

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1. Russia says no gas price discount from April 1

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak announced that a discount on gas price provided for Ukraine in the framework of the "winter package" would not be effective from April 1.

"The gas discount for Ukraine, which has been provided by the Russian government for Q1 2016 in the amount of $17.77, will expire on March 31, 2016. The final gas price for Ukraine in Q1 amounted to $212 per 1,000 cubic meters," Novak said in a statement that UNIAN has at its disposal.

http://www.unian.info/economics/1305299-russia-says-no-gas-price-discount-from-april-1.html

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2. CIA-trained Ukrainian spy arrested in Russia

Lt. Col. Yuriy Ivanchenko allegedly offered his services to the FSB with the aim of becoming a false informant.

MOSCOW, March 31 (UPI) -- A Ukrainian counterintelligence officer who attempted to infiltrate Russia's Federal Security Bureau will be deported, the agency said Thursday.

The FSB noted in a statement that intelligence agencies, including the United States' CIA, are working with the Ukrainian Security Forces (SBU) in Kiev, Ukraine, and that the SBU's Lt. Col. Yuriy Ivanchenko, called "a top-tier employee" of the SBU, was sent to Russia to become a false informant for the FSB.

Ivanchenko's plan, it said, was to supply an FSB employee with false information, and then arrest him. "At some point, the SBU and CIA had planned to seize the FSB officer while obtaining information from Ivanchenko," the statement said, adding that Ivanchenko was trained by the CIA.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2016/03/31/CIA-trained-Ukrainian-spy-arrested-in-Russia/1101459427710/?spt=sec&or=tn

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3. SBU confirms detention of its operative in Russia

The SBU Security Service of Ukraine has confirmed the information about the detention of its officer in Russia, SBU Head Vasyl Hrytsak told the reporters Thursday, according to an UNIAN correspondent.

"According to our information, he was arrested," Hrytsak said, noting that in mid-2014, the officer was deprived of access to state secrets, and from late 2015, he has been working in the SBU without an assigned position.

According to Hrytsak, the officer wrote an official report on his plans to visit Russia, but this report has not passed the agreement procedure, so his trip was illegal.

http://www.unian.info/society/1305694-sbu-confirms-detention-of-its-operative-in-russia.html

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4. Crimea to end electricity supplies from Ukraine

"We have definitely decided to abandon supplies of Ukrainian electric energy. We do not need it. The question of the supply of electricity from Ukraine has long been off the agenda,” said Sheremet.

“There's no one there to negotiate with or talk to. They’ve got some shady business. One day they sell energy, the next they blow up power lines,” he added.

Ukraine’s Ukrenergo says the three power lines from Ukraine to Crimea are now rebuilt, and Kiev is ready to renew supplies in a matter of hours.

According to Sheremet, Crimea is using energy from mainland Russia only. He added that a second energy bridge is being built and power shortages will be sorted by the beginning of May, ending the emergency situation.

https://www.rt.com/business/337891-crimea-russia-energy-ukraine/

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5. . nt