The 20th EU-Ukraine Summit took place today, the first since the Association Agreement entered into force.
Rebecca Harms,
Greens/EFA Member of the European Parliament, Co-President of the
Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee
and expert on Ukraine and Eastern Europe, is commenting :
"I welcome the final statement of the summit and the decision for further macro-financial support to Ukraine. The Parliament and the Government of Ukraine have agreed on many laws that have initiated reforms in almost all areas in the public administration. Successful health and pension reforms and decentralisation are bringing progress in the fight against corruption. The summit declaration rightly calls for the swift establishment of the Anti-Corruption Court and strengthening the independence of institutions in the fight against corruption. Electoral reform is another important step against corruption and it is right to press for it now.
The European Union must continue to strongly support Ukraine in its reforms, including in the energy sector, instead of concluding agreements with President Vladimir Putin on North Stream II, which goes against the interest of Europe as a whole.
Russia continues to torpedo Ukraine's ambitious reforms. The sea blockade in the Sea of Azov and the lack of willingness to agree to a blue helmet mission show that Vladimir Putin has no interest in ending the confrontation. The European Union is right to maintain sanctions in response to breaches of international law and any infringements of these sanctions by EU companies must be prosecuted.
I support the call for the immediate release and return to Ukraine of all Ukrainian political prisoners such as Oleg Sentsov, Volodymyr Balukh, Oleksandr Kolchenko, Stanislav Klykh, Oleksandr Shumkov and Roman Sushchenko."
