BRUSSELS – The Euronest Parliamentary Assembly has adopted a resolution condemning the sentence of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
The press service of the Group of the European People’s Party in the European Parliament told Interfax-Ukraine in Brussels on Tuesday that the resolution had been adopted at the second meeting of the Euronest in Baku (Azerbaijan).
According to the statement, the resolution, which was initiated by the EPP family members, as well as members of the European, Ukrainian and Moldovan parliaments, "urges the Ukrainian authorities to ascertain a fair, transparent and impartial appeal process for Yulia Tymoshenko, [former Interior Minister] Yuriy Lutsenko, and other opposition politicians, and demands that they [be given] proper medical care according to international standards."
"It is a major breakthrough that the parties of the Eastern [Partnership] states agree that the current developments in Ukraine are very serious. Prosecution of opposition figures raises doubts about the level of democracy in Ukraine, also among Eastern Europeans. In the resolution, we demand that proper treatment be given to Yulia [Tymoshenko] and other imprisoned politicians," Vice-Chairman of the EPP Group responsible for the Eastern Neighborhood Policy, MEP Gunnar Hokmark, said.
EPP Vice-President, Vice-Chairman of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly, MEP Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, in turn, said that this resolution was a signal to the Ukrainian authorities that "the treatment of Yulia Tymoshenko, Yuriy Lutsenko and others is unacceptable."
"It is symbolic that we are sending this message on the day when Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych arrives in Baku. The European People’s Party has proven that it has strong partners in Eastern Europe which share common EPP family values," he said
