Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-12-01-Speech-3-033"
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"en.20041201.10.3-033"2
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".
Ladies and gentlemen, the colour orange so many of us are wearing today and so many of us in this House are carrying is the colour of freedom. In the same vein, I believe the events I witnessed during my ten-day stay in Ukraine give me the right to say that at present the capital of Europe is not in Brussels or in Strasbourg, but in Kiev, as it is in Kiev that millions of our Ukrainian brothers are fighting for the most basic of European values.
I am proud and moved today to see so many Members of this House, on both the Left and the Right, uniting to defend basic European values such as freedom and democracy. I should like to add that the fact that the colour orange can be seen today on both the Left and the Right does not mean that we support only one candidate, or that we are interfering in Ukraine’s domestic affairs. We do not wish to interfere in the electoral process under way in Ukraine. We do, however, want to make it quite clear that if we are to be proud of this European Union and of this European Parliament of ours, there can be no question of condoning electoral fraud or of allowing force, violence and lies to deprive the Ukrainian people of their freedom and of the right to elect their own president.
I am delighted that today’s statements by the Council and the Commission and Parliament’s motion for a resolution, despite being a compromise, will be a clear sign that irrespective of the political differences that divide us, Europeans are sending out the unequivocal message that Europe’s goal is freedom and democracy in Ukraine. I should also like to add that statements that have unfortunately been repeated in this House, to the effect that President Yushchenko’s supporters included chauvinists or nationalists, are lies and loathsome provocation, and it is a shame that Members of this House are prepared to be party to such provocation. I spent ten days on the streets of Kiev and stood among crowds of people fighting for freedom, and not once did I hear a single person insulting Russians, Poles or Jews. I should like to tell the Members of this House who are concerned about anti-Semitism in Ukraine that they should turn their attention to anti-Semitism in Poland, where it is much more widespread.
I should also like to add that tomorrow’s vote will provide us with an opportunity to send a very clear signal to our Ukrainian brothers and sisters, namely that Europe is opening its doors to them. Let us hope that it will not be long before we meet in a united Europe."@en1
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