Brussels, 29/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the ALDE Group in the European Parliament (EP) met former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko in her hospital on Friday 25 May, after he had held meetings with Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka, with whom he discussed Tymoshenko's situation, the Euro 2012 football tournament and the association agreement. “If it can be expedited quickly, the most effective and definitive way to resolve the judicial case involving Yulia Tymoshenko would be to refer it to the European Court of Human Rights for a clear and unequivocal ruling as to whether she has been treated fairly or not”, said Verhofstadt, making clear that, were this to prove impossible, the appointment of an “eminent and impartial” European personality to consider the matter “should be speedily pursued”.
Verhofstadt said that attendance by politicians at Euro 2012 was “a matter of personal conscience and judgment, though I consider it problematic in the current circumstances”.
He also stated that the EU is willing to continue with the association agreement with Ukraine, “but the onus now lies with Ukraine to prove that it can demonstrate respect for the fundamental rights”. “As long as opposition politicians remain imprisoned, it is hard to see how progress can be made”, he added. (CG/transl.rt)