Insight - Hard Ukraine bargaining leaves sour taste for some in EU

European flags are seen outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels June 30, 2010. REUTERS/Thierry Roge

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Seeing its gold-spangled blue flag flown on the barricades of Kiev thrilled the European Union, reviving its self-image as a beacon of democracy at a time of growing doubt and economic gloom.

But nearly a year on from the first "EuroMaidan" protests that would topple the pro-Moscow president who had spurned an EU trade deal, some in Brussels are disillusioned by the experience of helping Ukraine. EU generosity in waiving import duties and funding gas supplies from Russia may be being abused, they say.