Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-07-12-Speech-4-009"
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"en.20070712.3.4-009"2
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"Mr President, Members of the European Parliament, on behalf of my colleague, Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner, who I am replacing today, I welcome this opportunity to discuss relations between the European Union and the Ukraine based on the very good report by Mr Kamiński.
This report is a balanced political document which contains clear messages. As you know, the situation in Ukraine remains difficult. It is crucial that the agreement of 27 May between President Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yanukovych to hold early elections on 30 September is fulfilled. The main players have to stabilise the country’s political situation, and they must establish a viable constitutional system. Only in this way can they create the conditions for the country to move forward with political and economic reforms, based on respect for the principles of democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the market economy.
In relation to the elections, it is paramount to ensure they are conducted in a democratic manner in accordance with international standards. We have been in regular contact with the various political sides in Ukraine to pass on these messages. We regularly continue to do so. For instance, my colleague Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner met Prime Minister Yanukovych at the Cooperation Council on 18 June, and she will meet Foreign Minister Yatsenyuk next week. The EU-Ukraine Summit on 14 September in Kiev, just two weeks before the elections, will be a key event to reaffirm these messages at the highest level.
We strongly welcome the fact that the report by Mr Kamiński emphasises these crucial messages. This document, along with the recent visit of a European Parliament delegation to Ukraine, led by Mr Severin, the chairman of the Parliament’s delegation for relations with Ukraine, is a valuable contribution towards ensuring stabilisation of the situation in Ukraine and emphasising the importance of constitutional reform. Close coordination between the European Parliament and the Commission on these steps is particularly welcome.
As regards the new enhanced agreement, the political crisis has not had a detrimental effect on the negotiations for the time being. Both political sides in Ukraine attach high importance to the negotiations, four rounds of which have already taken place. The last round took place only last week, on 2 to 4 July in Kiev, and good progress has been achieved on political, justice-related, freedom and security-related and other sectoral aspects of the agreement.
The Ukrainian side, for whom the European perspective is a key concern, is emphasising its objective of ‘political association and economic integration’ in these negotiations. The Summit on 14 September will be an important occasion to assess the overall status of negotiations and provide political momentum for further progress. As it is pointed out in Mr Kamiński’s report, negotiations on a deep and comprehensive free trade area, which will be a core element of the new enhanced agreement, will start as soon as Ukraine’s WTO accession process is finalised. There are still some outstanding issues to discuss, not only with the European Union, but also with other parties, but with some goodwill on the Ukrainian side, their efforts should come to fruition during the course of this year.
In conclusion, we very much welcome this report and the key messages it sends to the Ukrainian side. On the main issue you raise, i.e. the EU response to Ukraine’s European aspirations, our position is clear: our aim in the negotiations is to bring Ukraine as close as possible to the European Union in as many areas as possible, while not prejudging any possible future developments in EU-Ukraine relations."@en1
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