The special mission of the European Parliament to Ukraine, headed by former President of European Parliament Pat Cox and former Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski has been extended to September, according to Jacek Protasiewicz, vice president of the parliament. There are also indications that the mission's mandate might also be extended, but it's not yet clear how.
“The European
Parliament Conference of Presidents agreed unanimously to extend
Kwasniewski/Cox mission to Ukraine
until September. Good decision,” Protasiewicz wrote in his Twitter blog on April 18.
The
mission, which has been working in Ukraine since June 2012, is aimed
at easing the problem of selective criminal prosecutions and has had frequent
discussions with Ukrainian authorities on potential solutions.
The
mission is widely credited for the pardon and release of former
Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko from jail earlier this month, as
well as the pardon of former Environment Minister Heorhiy Filipchuk,
who was released on probation last year.
Until
the pardon, which came on April 7, there were doubts in the European
Parliament as to the expediency of the mission’s work. The mission gave a report about its work today.
European Parliament President Martin Schulz praised the pardon of Lutsenko as great achievement of the mission and said that Head of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs Elmar Brok and Head of the Parliamentary Delegation on Cooperation with Ukraine Pawel Kowal were tasked with making proposals to establish a political framework for the expansion of cooperation with Ukraine, Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported.
Schulz also said that the mission is expected to produce a new report in September on progress in the case of the jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. She is serving a seven-year sentence for abuse of office, a charge widely seen as politically motivated.
Speaking after presenting the report, Cox said that “what happened in Ukraine last week was a clear signal of the willingness to sign the Association Agreement.”
“Much needs to be done, but at present the most important thing is to put an end to the situation in the Ukrainian parliament, which has been blocked and cannot do its important work of taking the necessary decisions for the European integration,” he said, according to Interfax.
The
report will help to shape opinions before the European Parliament
gives its second and final evaluation in May on Ukraine’s progress
towards signing an Association Agreement this fall, said Hryhoriy
Nemyria, head of the committee on European integration in Ukraine’s
parliament.
The agreement has been on hold for months, partially because of problems with political prisoners. The agreement also includes a comprehensive trade treaty.
You can watch the press briefing of Presidents Cox and Kwasniewski here: http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/player/streaming.cfm?type=ebsvod&sid=227524
Kyiv Post editor Katya Gorchinskaya can be reached at [email protected].
