The European People's Party (EPP) has expressed its concern about the political situation in Ukraine and called on Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to change it.
EPP President Wilfried Martens announced this in a statement after the party’s summit in Brussels on Thursday.
"Unfortunately, Ukraine is marching backward from the important goals of democratization, Europeanization and modernization. If this continues, this direction is running a risk to become totally incompatible with the declared intention to move closer to the European Union within the framework of the association agreement," he said.
Martens said that "the EPP is deeply concerned that there is growing evidence that Ukraine’s judicial system and law enforcement agencies are increasingly used by the Ukrainian authorities as a political instrument for the harassment and intimidation of the opposition, civil society and the media."
"The EPP calls on [Ukrainian] President [Viktor] Yanukovych and the Ukrainian authorities to remedy the situation and to guarantee an inclusiveness and openness of political space in Ukraine," he said.
In this connection, Martens said that the issue concerned the period of preparation for the next parliamentary elections that are to be held in Ukraine in 2012.
He expressed hope that these elections would meet the aspirations of the Ukrainian people with respect to active and effective democratic governance.
"Against this background, the EPP urges President Yanukovych to avoid temptation to change the law on parliamentary elections in a non-transparent way to benefit his own political party and his political calculations," Martens said.
He also noted that "the EPP reiterates its full support and solidarity with its sister party Batkivschyna and its leader Yulia Tymoshenko."
Martens said that "it would be a terrible betrayal of most Ukrainian people if their dreams of a truly European future are denied by rigged elections and politically motivated prosecutions."
"The EPP stands with Ukraine’s democracy," he said.
