The European Affairs Committee of the Saeima deplores the decision of Ukrainian authorities not to sign the Association Agreement with the European Union at the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius. This was said in the statement on the situation in Ukraine adopted by the Committee unanimously on Friday, 13 December. In the statement, members of the Committee emphasise that Latvia as a full-fledged member state of the UN, OSCE, Council of Europe, EU and NATO that upholds the values of democracy cannot condone the actions of the Ukrainian authorities – breaking into the offices of the parliamentary opposition party – which can be viewed as a threat to parliamentarism.
“Latvia and Ukraine are historically linked by close economic and political cooperation, and Latvia as a member state of the European Union has unequivocally expressed its support for Ukraine’s aspirations in moving towards EU values; therefore, today it is absolutely necessary to reaffirm our support for the European aspirations explicitly demonstrated by the Ukrainian people,” emphasised Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, Chairperson of the European Affairs Committee.
She also stressed that the European Affairs Committee regularly considers matters related to the Eastern Partnership, including Ukraine’s progress in European integration, that is why it is especially important that the Committee’s statement was adopted unanimously.
In the statement, the Committee also condemns the use of excessive force against peaceful demonstrations and calls on Ukrainian public authorities not to permit such actions in future; it concurrently expresses solidarity with the participants of peaceful demonstrations who have exercised their right to freedom of assembly and freedom of speech to urge the Ukrainian government to sign the Association Agreement with the European Union.
The European Affairs Committee urges both parties to engage in constructive and open dialogue in order to seek a politically farsighted solution in the interests of the state and its citizens and to abstain from provocations that could lead to violence. The Committee also calls for greater involvement of the civil society in state reform processes.
In its statement, the Committee supports the European Parliament’s call for the launching of a new European Union mediation mission at the highest political level and urges European Union member state parliaments and governments, the European Parliament and other European Union institutions to seek new opportunities for active cooperation with Ukraine
The statement is adopted on the basis of the well-established relationship between Latvia and Ukraine and in support of Ukraine’s long-term commitment to move towards greater economic and political integration with the European Union, as well as considering the alarming situation regarding democracy in Ukraine which has developed following the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius, where the government of Ukraine decided not to sign an Association Agreement envisioning the creation of a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, and considering the protests of the Ukrainian people which ensued after this decision and against which public authorities have used excessive force.
Saeima Press Service