Brussels, 08/06/2012 (Agence Europe) - Former European Parliament (EP) president Pat Cox and former Polish prime minister Aleksander Kwasniewski, appointed at the behest of EP President Martin Schulz to act as observers at the appeal of Yulia Tymoshenko, the former Ukrainian prime minister, will be in Ukraine on Monday 11 June for meetings with Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and Tymoshenko's family. On Thursday 7 May, Schulz said that the two representatives would closely monitor the situation until 26 June and the start of the appeal case, without necessarily remaining the whole time in Ukraine. “They will meet Mr Azarov and the Tymoshenko family then we will decide”, he said. Kwasniewski indicated that no precise timetable had been defined. The two men will have access to all lawyers, prosecutors and other legal staff and documents relating to the case.
Schulz said that the purpose of sending the two special envoys is to help ensure a fair and proper trial, and perhaps improve EU-Ukraine relations and build mutual confidence. “It's a difficult task”, he said. Cox and Kwasniewski are independent of both the EP and its president, he stated. They have a free hand to see what is happening in the country and the Tymoshenko case, and make sure things are going in the right direction, he added. “It's a difficult task but a necessary one”, Kwasniewski said. (CG/transl.rt)