Statement van Eurocommissaris Füle over zijn ontmoeting met de oppositieleider van Oekraïne (en)

European Commission

MEMO

Brussels, 23 April 2013

Statement by Commissioner Štefan Füle following his meeting with Arseniy Yatsenyuk leader of the “United Opposition” in Ukraine

The Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood, Policy Štefan Füle, met today with Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the leader of the “United Opposition” in Ukraine and Head of the "Batkivshchyna" Parliamentary Faction.

Their discussion focused on the political situation in Ukraine and the prospects for signing the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement at the Vilnius Summit in November in light of the conclusions of the 10 December 2012 Foreign Affairs Council.

Commissioner Füle expressed his satisfaction concerning recent developments in the Ukrainian Parliament: "After weeks of stalemate, I am pleased that Verkhovna Rada has got back to work. Ukraine needs a Parliament where the majority and the opposition engage constructively with each other and assume responsibility on the reforms needed for the country and its citizens in fulfilling their European choice. There have been several such positive examples recently but they need to continue and expand."

Commissioner Füle welcomed the commitment of the three opposition leaders to reforms that are essential to Ukraine's European agenda.

He stressed that the pardoning of former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko and former Environmental Protection Minister Heorhiy Filipchuk sent out an important signal and he added that the European Union looks forward to Ukraine addressing the outstanding case of selective justice. Commissioner Füle emphasised the important role that the Ukrainian Parliament has to play in preventing any recurrence of selective justice through the implementation of comprehensive judicial reforms in line with European standards.