Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-01-13-Speech-4-013"
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"en.20050113.3.4-013"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, you have replied to the question I was asking myself. What, now, are we to do with our Ukrainian friends who have turned towards Europe? The fact is that, in the streets and in the icy cold, the Ukrainian people have, in the course of a month, chosen the camp in which they are to build their future: the camp of democracy, non-violence and Europe. I believe that Mr Yushchenko’s victory is a victory for our European values.
I myself was one of the 1 200 OSCE observers who oversaw the poll on 26 December, not in Kiev but in Belgrade, in the Odessa region situated close to the border with Romania and Moldova, where certain villages are neither Russian nor Ukrainian-speaking. Thanks to the new law that has been put in place, the way in which it had been possible to prepare for the second round of the presidential elections was remarkable. We noted how smoothly matters went at the polling stations when the votes were being counted, and we were able to keep track of the ballot papers until they were finally recorded by the Regional Committees.
Ukraine’s unshakeable desire to join the ranks of democracy will cause a shake-up in our policies, Commissioner. One has only to read the plan of the new team I was able to meet at the conclusion of our mission. I can inform you of their proposals. Of the two objectives that emerge very clearly, the first is integration into the European Union, an issue already being examined by working parties. The second is decentralisation, which should prevent the country from splitting. Nor must the massive trauma of Chernobyl be forgotten.
I am therefore surprised, Commissioner, at your speech removing this prospect from Ukraine. With their orange revolution, the Ukrainian people have raised, and are raising now, the issue of our capacity to respond to the aspirations created by ourselves. Just recently, and with more than 70% of the vote, we again gave a huge endorsement to Article 1 of the Constitution, stating that ‘[t]he Union shall be open to all European States which respect its values and are committed to promoting them together’.
We need now to reflect upon the relevance of the New Neighbourhood Policy for countries such as Ukraine if they have no prospects of accession. I think it would be a mistake to send them this message. For us, Ukraine definitely has its place as an EU Member State."@en1
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