The Greens group in the European Parliament has said that further progress and the full signature of the EU-Ukraine association agreement should be dependent on there being substantial progress in democratic reform and the observance of basic rights in Ukraine.
The Greens group in the European Parliament said this in a comment made on the eve of initialing the document.
"This procedural step ensures there is a final text, following months of negotiations. However the EU must not commit to any further steps towards an Association Agreement until Ukraine makes real progress on democratic reforms and basic rights. In practice, this means the EU and its member states should postpone any plans to finally sign the agreement until after the parliamentary elections in October at the very earliest," Leader of the Greens group in the European Parliament Rebecca Harms said.
"There should be free and fair elections, as well as substantial efforts to guarantee political plurality and to address major human rights concerns, as preconditions before any further steps are taken," Harms said.
