BRUSSELS – EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton has said that if Ukraine's leadership does not guarantee basic democratic values for its citizens, this is a real problem for the country as well as for the EU.
At a press conference in Brussels on Monday, July 23, after the 3rd Eastern
Partnership Ministerial Meeting, when asked by journalists about
political prisoners in Ukraine, Ashton noted that this had been the
topic of every conversation they had with their Ukrainian counterparts.
“It’s not just about today. It’s about in every conversation that we
have. And with our Ukrainian colleagues we have stressed on many
occasions not least at a meeting that I had two or three weeks ago when I
said it was not about an individual it’s about the rule of law and
making sure that justice is seen to be done and is done effectively and
properly. And that applies not only to Yulia Tymoshenko but to others
who are being held,” she said.
The EU high representative also said that Ukraine did know full well
that it was a fundamental part of the issue that Brussels had with Kyiv.
“My point today was the broadest possible one about the role of
leadership which is to act on behalf of the people. And if you act on
behalf of the people, you have to deliver for all of them on the values
that bring us together, which is about democracy and freedom and human
rights. And if anyone does not believe or has not been seen to have been
given the freedom of the rule of law being applied properly then that
is a real problem for us, it’s a problem for that country and that is
part and parcel of the ongoing relationship, not just today,” she added.
EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy
Stefan Fule for his part said that during his meeting with Ukrainian
Foreign Minister Kostiantyn Hryschenko he stressed that there were three
issues that the member states were very much interested to see solved.
“It’s dealing with the selective use of the justice, addressing this
issue. Second, make sure that the next parliamentary elections are
indeed free and fair. And the third issue is to make the concrete steps
in the reform process, particularly delivering on the association
agenda,” Fule said.
