KIEV, Nov. 18 – A group of lawmakers working on a bill that would allow jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko to travel for medical treatment in Germany failed on Monday to finalize the draft.

This suggests the bill is unlikely to be submitted and approved by Parliament on Tuesday, with Ukraine probably failing its second deadline to approve the legislation, intended to open the way for the country’s association and free trade with the European Union.

President Viktor Yanukovych’s Regions Party indicated Monday it would not support any bill on the matter until it is agreed by the group.

"If we talk about these bills that are on the agenda tomorrow... I believe our party will not support them because they are not perfect, they have a lot of contradictions, and they contradict the Constitution,” Hryhoriy Smitiuk, a senior member of the Regions Party, told Channel 5.

Ukraine needs to approve the bill and two other draft laws – on the prosecutor’s office and parliamentary elections - before a summit between the EU and Ukraine is due on November 28.

European Union envoys, former Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski and Irish politician Pat Cox, are supposed to arrive in Kiev on Tuesday to check the progress with the bill and other draft laws.

Parliament will have sessions on Tuesday through Friday, and technically could approve the needed legislation later this week if opposition and pro-government lawmakers agree.

Meanwhile, despite the group’s failure to agree on the bill on Tuesday, there were optimistic signs that the parties may be eventually ready to finalize the legislation that could be supported in Parliament.

Ihor Yeremeyev, an independent lawmaker and a member of the group, said Monday there was consensus among the lawmakers throughout most of the day.

“Something has changed,” Yeremeyev wrote in his blog. “Today any mutual attacks have disappeared, almost all issues have found consensus. I hope that with this approach we have a chance to quickly finalize the bill.”

But hours later, in his second post on his blog, Yeremeyev said the lawmakers have lack of tolerance that had suddenly ended the group meeting.

“Not enough mutual tolerance,” he said. “Anything could disrupt the work of the group. Tolerance is very important. One phrase thrown by one deputy during the meeting has ended the day of making conceptual decisions on the bill.”

The group will now continue its work on Tuesday to try to come up with the bill that can be approved by both, opposition and pro-government lawmakers. (tl/ez)