Strijd in Oekraïne eindigt met wapenstokken en traangas (en)

EUROPE IN REVIEW 2013 - The EU this year lost a battle for Ukraine, but nobody is laughing at its "soft power" any more.

Ever since the Orange Revolution in 2004, the EU and Russia have been pulling the former Soviet republic in opposite directions.

The EU's big incentive was a political association and "deep and comprehensive" free trade agreement, or DCFTA, described by the people who drafted the several-thousand-page-long treaty as a "blueprint for future accession."

Russia's tactics included: threatening to block trade; calling in billion dollar gas debts; and calling Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovych i to Moscow for "man-to-man" chats.

Ukraine's DCFTA signature was to crown an EU summit in Vilnius on 28 November.

In the run-up to the event, EU countries agreed to do it even if he keeps opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko in jail. "It's sad, but true. The future of Ukraine is more important than the future of one woman," an EU diplomat remarked.

The stakes were high.

If Yanukovych took the EU path, it would mark a geopolitical shift in Europe.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin i needs Ukraine to be the cornerstone of his "Eurasian Union" - a project designed to revive Russian hegemony in the east.

He also needs to show pro-democracy movements in Russia that there is no hope for reform in the former Soviet domain.

But on 21 November, Yanukovych shocked the EU by saying No.

He still went to Vilnius. A video published by the Lithuanian EU presidency showed the stony-faced former lorry driver talking about Russian pressure to German Chancellor Angela Merkel i.

"Nice of you to come. But we expected more," Merkel said.

"[Yanukovych] is from a different civilisation. He is not a partner for Europe at all," British Prime Minister David Cameron i reportedly told colleagues.

The Ukrainian leader shocked Europe once again a few hours later.

At 4am the day after Vilnius, his riot police brutally attacked a group of students at a pro-EU protest in Kiev.

But the biggest shock came next, when up to half a million Ukrainian people joined street protests waving EU flags and calling on Yanukovych to go.

The numbers dwarfed the Orange Revolution itself.

Police clashes got worse and EU diplomats, who expected a mass-scale crackdown, began talking about Ukraine as Belarus II: autocratic; isolated; under Russia's boot.

The story continues to unfold.

Yanukovych in December accepted a $15 billion Russian bailout instead of the EU offer.

He says he is still interested in reviving the EU deal in the new year, but no one in the EU capital believes him any more.

As the year draws to a close, the barricades are still there in central Kiev.

On Sunday (29 December) a few thousand demonstrators even marched toward Yanukovych's private mansion to voice anger on state corruption.

Their number is dwindling despite fresh outrages, such as the vicious roadside beating of investigative journalist Tetyana Chornovil.

But even if the EU has to wait until Yanukovych leaves power before resuming the DCFTA process, the events in Ukraine this year have made their mark.

People have stopped laughing at the EU's "soft power" and "benchmarks" after the huge rallies on the streets of Kiev.

They have also noticed that Ukraine exists amid other priorities in Iran and Syria.

EU Council chief Herman Van Rompuy i told press at an EU summit in December that: "the most significant development for Europeans currently is the peaceful popular protest in Ukraine."

A senior EU official told this website: "It goes to show that what we take for granted in Europe - rule of law and political freedom - is a rare and precious thing."

"The reason why Ukrainians want to get closer to Europe is precisely because we did not go for some cheap deal with Yanukovych. Because we have standards and values," he added.

This article was printed in EUobserver's yearly magazine 'Europe in review 2013'. The print edition looks back at the most important stories of the year. To obtain a copy of the magazine, please contact mc@euobserver.com. Price per copy €4.75 + postage, excl. vat. Discounts on larger purchases.