You're reading: Italian politician: EU, Ukraine should show joint work in overcoming obstacles to cooperation

Kyiv and Brussels should demonstrate the political will and joint work in addressing the issues of the European integration of Ukraine, former Italian Minister for Foreign Trade and MP Adolfo Urso has said. 

“It’s a long road, but it’s important how the parties demonstrate their political will in overcoming obstacles, and how they work together to find solutions that can bring the European horizon of Ukraine closer in the near future,” he said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine, when asked to comment on the prospects of Ukraine’s membership of the EU.

As for the prospects of signing the association agreement between Ukraine and the EU, the Italian politician supported the position regarding the European future of Ukraine.

“I have no doubt that the final signing of the association agreement, which was initialed last March, will bring significant benefits both to you and to us,” Urso said.

When asked to comment on the impact of criminal cases against former Ukrainian government officials on the EU integration of the country, Urso welcomed a statement by the Ukrainian authorities regarding their intention to comply with any decision of the European Court of Human Rights in this case.

“I know that [former Ukrainian Prime Minister] Yulia Tymoshenko has appealed to the European Court [of Human Rights], and I support the fact that the Ukrainian government has recently confirmed that it will fulfill its obligations and abide by any verdict of the European Court,” he said.

While speaking about the recent parliamentary elections in Ukraine, he said that they were not perfect, but the country should seek to improve the electoral system.

“There could be some kind of criticism, but the country introduced the initiatives aimed at improving the transparency [of the elections]. I mean 34,000 Web cameras that were installed at polling stations. I also noticed that all of the opposition parties had won a significant number of new seats,” Urso said.

The politician also noted the importance of cooperation between the EU and Ukraine in overcoming the consequences of the financial and economic crisis.

“But it won’t be easy. It will require patience and cooperation in economic terms between all of the EU countries and with neighboring countries, such as Ukraine,” he said.