Brussels, 17/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 17 March, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker announced that the European Commission will present its proposal for liberalising Ukrainian visas in April.
“In recent days and times, Ukraine has undertaken enormous reforms mainly regarding the adoption of legislation on the e-statement and the appointment of members of the Anti-Corruption Agency (…) These measures will enable the Commission to make a proposal for liberalising visas in April”, Juncker stated at a press conference in Brussels with Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko and European Council President Donald Tusk. On Friday 18 December, the Commission had announced that it would recommend, at the beginning of 2016, liberalising the visa regime for Ukrainian nationals (see EUROPE 11457).
While Juncker described the reform process in Ukraine as “very impressive”, Tusk called for it to be continued. And for this, the political crisis needs to be settled. “I hope that a solution will soon be found, which will enable Ukraine to continue the reforms demanded by the Ukrainian people”, Tusk stated. During another meeting, European Parliament President Martin Schulz said he had agreed with Poroshenko on the need for an “urgent resolution of the ongoing governmental crisis”. Schulz encouraged “all the political forces to unite in their support for a stable and credible government, far from vested interests”. “They should also commit to a serious fight against corruption and focus on implementing structural reforms and the association agreement”, he added. Poroshenko tried to reassure his partners by saying, in the presence of Juncker and Tusk, that he hoped a solution to the crisis would be found before the end of the month, and by stating that there would not be early parliamentary elections.
Call for sanctions against those responsible for detaining Nadiya Savchenko. Poroshenko also called on the Europeans to take measures against the Russians responsible for the imprisonment of Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko, reminding them of the letter from 57 MEPs calling for sanctions (see EUROPE 11508). “I hope this can be examined”, he added, stating that the list should be extended to all those responsible for the illegal detention of Ukrainians. Tusk called for Savchenko's “immediate release” and for the release of all illegally detained Ukrainian citizens.
The leaders also discussed the implementation of the Minsk agreements. “Determined efforts are needed”, Tusk stated. Poroshenko again insisted on the fact that Ukraine was fulfilling every element of Minsk. “We are doing our best to ensure security and to be open in the cooperation with the OSCE mission. We are ready to implement the political elements including the legislation on elections and constitutional changes”, he said. “But we have seen none of this on the Russian side”, he criticised. Elsewhere, at midday in Brussels, Poroshenko met France's President François Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the Minsk agreements and the continuing blockages in implementing them. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)