BRUSSELS – Six draft resolutions on Ukraine have been registered in the European Parliament, each by a separate political group.
The resolutions contain evaluations of the recent parliamentary
elections in Ukraine varying from sharply negative to moderate. At the
same time, all of the political groups support further political
association and economic integration of Ukraine into the EU, as well as
saying that the Association Agreement should be signed.
As reported, the Ukrainian issue will be considered at a plenary
session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on December 12. The EP
will hold a vote on the issue on December 13.
Compromise wording of the resolution will be ready no sooner than the night of December 11 or the morning of December 12.
Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) is the only group that did not submit a draft resolution on the issue.
As expected, the draft resolution of the European People’s Party
(EPP) group contains the most negative assessment of the elections,
while the draft resolution of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left
(GUE/NGL) group is the most positive about the election process in
Ukraine, and even forecasts EU membership prospects for Ukraine.
In particular, the EPP Group said in its resolution that it condemns
violations during the elections and doubts that the results of the
elections really reflect the will of the Ukrainian people. The group’s
resolution also says that the election process did not meet the main
international standards and was a step backwards in comparison with the
2010 elections.
The EPP also said the imprisonment of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko influenced the results of the elections.
In connection with this, the EPP called on the Ukrainian parliament
to improve election legislation and fulfill the recommendations of the
Venice Commission in order to improve the election legislation and bring
it into line with the country’s obligations to the OSCE and
international standards.
At the same time, the EPP praised such positive aspects of the
parliamentary elections in Ukraine as high voter turnout, the fact that
the results of the election under party lists coincided with the
preliminary results of the exit poll, as well as the fact that the new
political forces managed to pass the election threshold, which showed
Ukrainians’ willingness to live in a democratic and pluralistic society.
The EPP Group stressed in its draft resolution that the EU is still
committed to cooperation with Ukraine to improve democratic
institutions, strengthening the rule of law and promoting important
economic reforms, as well as confirming its obligation to work together
with Ukraine on their political association and economic integration.
In addition, the group expressed support to liberalization of the
visa regime for Ukraine. The EPP also called on the Ukrainian
authorities to free and stop political oppression of former Ukrainian
Premier Yulia Tymoshenko, former Interior Minister of Ukraine Yuriy
Lutsenko, and other political prisoners.
