Strasbourg, 05/02/2014 (Agence Europe) -In a debate at the European Parliament on 5 February, MEPs, worried about the situation in Ukraine, urged the European Union to do more in the light of, lamenting that it hadn't done its work. EU High Representative Catherine Ashton was in Ukraine that very day (see related article). Polish MEPs Ryszard Antoni Legutko (ECR) and Zbigniew Ziobro (EFD) criticised the EU's policy for Ukraine. Legutko was critical, arguing that the EU did not have any good players or effective instruments, and neither did it have the desire to win - so when the crisis broke out, the EU was caught napping. He asked Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle whether he had any new thoughts about strategy since it was clear that the EU's current strategy was not working. Ziobro said there was neither a strategy nor a roadmap and both economic proposals and a political strategy were needed.
Call for sanctions
Several MEPs called for sanctions against Ukraine's leaders. The head of the ALDE Group, Guy Verhofstadt (Belgium), said he could not see any credible strategy based on action that could really change things and put an end to the violence. He said the EU had to change tack, introduce targeted sanctions against the regime and specific individuals, introducing an EU travel ban, for example, and freezing their bank accounts in the EU. He added that, once this weapon is in place, it has to be used if the Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanokovitch refuses to respect the rules of democracy by freeing political prisoners, holding early elections and presidential elections and returning to the 2004 constitution. A new strategy needs to be developed, he added, along with a financial aid package.
The head of the S&D, Hannes Swoboda (Austria), said sanctions had to be considered, but for the moment a political solution needed to be found. He said a compromise needed to be promoted, such as a national coalition caretaker government, a technocratic government and returning to the 2004 constitution to allow a solution to be found without dividing the country into separate parts.
The chair of the EP's foreign affairs committee, Elmar Brok (EPP, Germany), said that the people guilty of imprisoning, torturing and involvement in drawing up new laws should be issued with travel bans in the EU and their bank accounts should be checked to see whether they are holding dirty money. Noting the short-term measures being prepared by the EU, Brok said that the measures should have been taken a long time ago, along with requirements for economic progress and talks with the International Monetary Fund.
Vice-president of the Greens, Rebecca Harms (Germany), called for visa bans for Ukraine's leaders and a clampdown on money laundering. She hoped the EP would set up a permanent monitoring mission to discuss matters on a permanent basis, explaining that such a mission would be important, if only to ensure there is no increase in violence. All means at our disposal have to be used to prevent any attempts to partition the country, said Adrian Severin (non-attached, Romania), adding that Ukraine could not do it alone and the EU had to intervene. He said that, if crowned with success, the EU would gain influence over the entire neighbourhood by providing aid and medication capabilities for constitutional reforms. He said the most important thing was for political reforms to be introduced and the EU should unveil a financial package as large as that provided by Russia. Several MEPs opposed the idea of sanctions, saying that mediation should be used instead and sanctions might lead to a breakdown in the negotiations.
Stefan Füle said that the EU had a strategy that was not centred on sanctions, but instead on commitment based on European values and principles. Responding to criticism, he said the EU had a three-phased strategy - firstly, de-escalating the violence and ensuring security and stability; secondly, a political process with a platform for tackling the problems in Ukraine, including constitutional changes and free, fair and equitable elections; and thirdly, an association agreement, political association and a programme of reforms to boost democracy and the rule of law. (CG/transl.fl)