Brussels, 01/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 31 August, Europeans hailed the vote by the Ukrainian Parliament on a law for decentralisation. This provides for greater autonomy for the regions held by the pro-Russian separatists in East Ukraine - as is called for by the Minsk agreements. At the same time, the Europeans criticised the violence in Kiev that followed this vote and resulted in at least two police officers dying. Several dozen people were also wounded.
The vote on the constitutional amendments related to decentralisation is “an important step that paves the way towards substantial devolution of powers from the central level to regions and communities, increasing in parallel the accountability of territorial self-governments to their constituencies”, said High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini in a press release.
The chair of the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee, Elmar Brok, and the leader of the EU-Ukraine parliamentary delegation, Andrej Plenkovic, believed this vote was a “remarkable achievement in a country that does not have a strong tradition of decentralisation”. “This is also new proof of strong commitment from the Ukrainian authorities towards implementing the Minsk agreements and resolving the conflict peacefully”, they added, saying that decentralisation was also needed in order to modernise Ukraine more. Mogherini stated that the amendments will contribute to the full implementation of the Minsk agreements.
“The EU looks forward to adoption of these amendments in final reading later this year, as well as continued work on the judiciary-related constitutional amendments, taking into account the Venice Commission's recommendations”, Mogherini stated, saying that she was sure Ukraine would stay firmly on its way to further institutional and economic reforms, as well as comprehensive reform of police and the law enforcement sector “to ensure public order and safety across the country”.
Europeans concerned by violence.
Mogherini also warned that the reform process should not be compromised by violence. She underlined that the events that followed the vote - clashes and a grenade explosion - were “very worrying”. “Deeply regretting” this violence, Brok and Plenkovic called for “calm, restraint and the restoration of order”. During a speech, European Council President Donald Tusk also said he was “concerned” by the unleashing of violence in the Ukrainian capital. (Camille-Cerise Gessant)