KIEV, Feb. 29 – The European Union on Wednesday expressed “extreme disappointment” with the Foreign Ministry’s remarks attacking EU ambassador after he had criticized the government for creating a poor business climate in Ukraine.

The sharp exchange underscores rapidly worsening relations between Ukraine and the EU that have started to deteriorate after jailing of key opposition leaders in the country.

"We noted with extreme disappointment the comments from the Information Policy Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” Maja Kocijancic, spokesperson for EU High Representative Catherine Ashton, said in a statement.

The Foreign Ministry on Tuesday attacked Jose Manuel Pinto Teixeira, the EU Ambassador to Ukraine, accusing him of meddling after his critical remarks about the poor business climate.

The ministry said Teixeira “was trying to participate in Ukrainian internal political processes and public discourse.”

The EU has rebuffed these allegations.

“These remarks represent an unwarranted and unfounded attack on the personal integrity and professionalism of Ambassador Pinto Teixeira,” Kocijancic said. “We categorically reject them.”

Teixeira “continues to enjoy the full confidence of the European Union and has the support of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the Commission, Catherine Ashton, and of the European External Action Service," Kocijancic said.

The relations between Ukraine and the EU have started to worsen quickly after the jailing of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko for seven years in October 2011.

These further deteriorated after the jailing of Yuriy Lutsenko, a former interior minister in the Tymoshenko government, to four years earlier this week.

Brussels saw Tymoshenko's and Lutsenko’s trials as politically motivated and has put off the signing of bilateral agreements on political association and free trade over the issue.

Further upsetting Kiev, Teixeira recently criticized Ukraine for failing to improve its investment climate.

"Ukraine has, regrettably, a dismal record on the business climate," Teixeira told a meeting of government officials and businessmen, Reuters reported.

"President Yanukovych's pledges, since he was elected, that vertical power was necessary to fight corruption and create an attractive business climate have regrettably produced no such results," he said.

Teixeira said in reality things were getting worse, there was less investment and the signing of a free trade deal between the EU and Ukraine had been "undermined" by the use of selective justice for political purposes.

Ukraine ranked 152nd out of 183 economies included in the World Bank survey Doing Business 2012, after coming 149th in the previous annual survey. It has one of the worst tax systems in the world, according to the survey. (tl/ez)