Brussels, 24/11/2004 (Agence Europe) - The president of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso warned the Ukrainian authorities that if they did not agree to a serious independent review of the results of the second round of the presidential elections before the victor was announced, the EU would take measures that would have a negative impact on its relations with the country. On Wednesday in an announcement to the press, Mr Barroso said that if they believed that the Ukrainian authorities were not following the demand of the Council (for a revision of the results EUROPE 23 November p 6), this would have consequences on the overall relationship between Ukraine and the European Union. Barroso warned that at this stage he hoped that such a situation would not happen but if no re-examination of the election results by an independent body took place, it would clearly lead to consequences. Mr Barroso did not specify what measures that could be used but indicated that this would involve European Neighbourhood Policy. In the knowledge that the Commission would soon be sending the Council its first action plans for the implementation of this policy (also for Ukraine), it could, for example, involve suspension or amendment of the action plan, explained diplomats. Barroso provides assurances that he would be reiterating this position to president Putin on Thursday in The Hague during the EU/Russia summit (EUROPE yesterday p 4). Barroso affirmed that they would be saying quite clearly what they thought about Ukrainian events. Russia is playing a crucial role in the Ukrainian crisis insofar as during the campaign, the Kremlin openly supported prime minister Victor Ianoukovitch. Moscow has already congratulated Ianoukovitch for his "victory" but in the last few hours has taken a more cautious position, asserting that they had to wait for the official results. According to information from Kiev on Wednesday afternoon, the declaration of the results was imminent.
Meanwhile the CFSP High Representative, Javier Solana, warned on Wednesday at a European Parliament foreign affairs committee that the country was at a crossroads in its relationship with the EU and had to choose between democracy and close relations with the EU or the opposite. Solana underlined that the current electoral crisis was a democratic test that the Ukraine had to pass and that there would only be a partnership with Ukraine if the country shared the same democratic values as the EU.
Ukrainian ambassador to the EU, Roman Shpek, affirmed at the same committee that president-outgoing Leonid Koutchma was doing all he could to open a dialogue between the two parties to get them to the negotiating table. He said they were launching an appeal for dialogue and consultations but not in the streets. In the meantime, given the "extremely tense" situation in the streets of Kiev, the international community should avoid taking "extreme" positions and drawing "emotional and premature conclusions because the central electoral commission has not yet given the final result". According to Shpek, as long as the official results are not known, it is impossible to judge the legitimacy of the electoral process, who also affirmed that there had been complaints of irregularities from both sides. He believed that most of these irregularities were due to imperfections in the Ukrainian electoral process. He averred that whatever the final result was, the EU should not reduce its cooperation with Ukraine and on the contrary, ought to reinforce the relationship, which was of vital importance to his country. "Ukraine has its place in Europe and the EU should acknowledge our European aspirations, even if we are not requesting Union accession…We are expecting positive signals for the EU such as the swift adoption of the action plan on neighbourhood policy, the granting of a market economy status, the opening of negotiations on facilitating the granting of visas", declared the ambassador.
During the debate, MEPs (many of them Polish) all highlighted the urgent need to support the Ukrainian opposition so that the will of the people was recognised. At least half of all Ukrainian voters voted to defend "our European values, and they now want to know whether the trust they placed in us has been betrayed or not", exclaimed Marek Siwiec (PES, Poland), who presided the EP delegation of election observers. His compatriot Bronislaw Geremek (ALDE) said that "time is running out" and former Polish prime minister Jerzy Buzek (EPP-ED) requested that a European delegation of the "highest level" was immediately sent out to Kiev to follow and possibly take part in discussions.
While highly favoured by members of the EP committee, Solana does not like the idea which he feels has come at the wrong time. He asked what such a delegation could do in such a confused situation, adding that the Council had already opposed such a mission at this stage (but it might be appropriate at a later date). Solana said he remained in very regular telephone contact with all sides. He was criticised by German MEP Armin Lascher (EPP-ED) for not sending enough EU election observers to Ukraine. Russia and the United States are hugely represented in the Ukraine, but Europe was absent, he said, urging Solana to take more notice of the EU's direct neighbours rather than trying to solve crises around the world. In a press release, EP President Josep Borrell said that the Ukraine authorities had to understand that the international community would take action to ensure the desires expressed by the majority of Ukrainians were respected. As President of the European Parliament, I intend to provide the EP's support to citizens who in towns and cities throughout Ukraine are making their determination felt through peaceful means. The head of the EPP-ED group, Hans-Gert Pottering, called for a great debate on the situation in the Ukraine to be held on 1 December at the EP's mini-plenary in Brussels. The Conference of Presidents will decide on this at its Thursday meeting.