Brussels, 14/11/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 13 December, the European Parliament's conference of presidents decided to extend the mission of presidents Pat Cox and Alexander Kwasniewski again - until the last moment, in other words the beginning of the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius on 28 November - “to try to find a solution” to the situation of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Tymoshenko's situation is one of the conditions for signing the EU-Ukraine association agreement at the Eastern Partnership summit on 28-29 November.
The presidents of the European Parliament's political groups also called on Cox and Kwasniewski to return to Ukraine “next week” - for the 27th time. “We plan to return to Kiev next week and stay there as long as necessary, with as many people as necessary, to do everything necessary to ensure success”, said Cox at a press conference. Their visit aims to help and not to interfere, Kwasniewski added. President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz reiterated that their return is for humanitarian purposes and is not part of a “political game”.
Cox and Kwasniewski's call for consensus. In their interim statement - which is therefore not the final report initially planned - “given the situation”, Cox and Kwasniewski urge all the parties involved to use constructively the little time remaining in order to reach a historic consensus which could result in a successful summit in Vilnius. They call for consensus in order to adopt a law on the treatment of prisoners abroad - the most well-known of whom is Tymoshenko, who is suffering from disc hernias and who could receive medical care in Germany. Several draft laws have been presented but none has obtained the support of the majority party - the party of the president, the Party of the Regions - and a committee has been set up to try to write a law that would achieve consensus before the next session of the Ukrainian Parliament, the Rada, which begins on 19 November. Cox stated that the “key” Ukrainian authorities said that they think that it is possible for this law to be approved on first and second readings next week - like the law on the office of the general prosecutor and that on the parliamentary elections on second reading (legislation which also forms part of the EU's demand). “If there is good will from all sides, there is a good chance of finding a solution”, said Kwasniewski (our translation).
The Rada will meet on 19 November for its last session before the Eastern Partnership summit. In their statement, Cox and Kwasniewski say that what is important is not the ability to provide a solution but rather the political will to do so. What is indispensable in the next week is to find the political will to act and to have results, they state.
Cox and Kwasniewski say that although “considerable progress” has been made to fulfil the necessary conditions for signing the association agreement, they are not in a position at the moment to say that there is total conformity. In view of the Foreign Affairs Council on 18 November - during which the EU ministers could decide whether or not to sign the association agreement - Cox and Kwasniewski say that it would be premature to conclude that respect for the conditions laid out has been achieved or alternatively that it has not always been achieved. (CG/transl.fl)