The European Union will support Ukraine and its efforts to strengthen democracy. Adrian Severin, the chairman of the Delegation to the EU-Ukraine Parliamentary Cooperation Committee, which arrived in Ukraine on May 29 with the aim of gathering thorough and objective information about the current development of the political situation in the country, announced this at a press conference in Kyiv. Severin noted that authoritarianism, populism, and oligarchism are the biggest threats to the young and fragile Ukrainian democracy. He also expressed the hope that democracy in Ukraine will circumvent these threats and overcome these growing pains.
Discussing the purpose of the visit of the European parliamentary delegation, Severin said that the EU wants to understand the basis of the agreements achieved between the two sides of the political conflict, verify how stable it is, and see to what degree the people support it. The representatives of the leading bodies of the EU, the Council of Europe, and the European Commission have heartily welcomed the achievement of these agreements, he noted.
There are several reasons behind this: first, an agreement is already a result of political negotiations, not a consequence of violence or street demonstrations. Second, the agreements guarantee that the impending early elections will be held on a legal basis and will proceed in a democratic way. Third, the agreements will enable the members of Ukraine’s parliament to approve a minimal package of draft laws and normative acts that are important to people’s lives. Fourth, the agreements open up possibilities and indicate that the reform needs to be completed, and that mechanisms of checks and balances should be established.
Severin emphasized several times that the European parliamentarians have called upon the participants of the political agreements to abide by the compromise and implement a unilateral moratorium.
Discussing the origins of today’s political crisis, the European parliamentarian said that the members of his delegation reached the conclusion that there are deep divergences between the participants of the conflict, which are not likely to disappear after the early elections are held. Severin thinks that both sides have to resolve questions without engaging the street and, instead, focus their attention on what has already been agreed upon, not on differences.
“Any sign of violence and intensification of undemocratic actions will lead to the escalation of the crisis and will do great harm to the prospects of Ukraine’s integration into the European Union,” he emphasized.
Responding to questions from The Day’s journalist, who asked whether each side of the conflict had demonstrated a desire and readiness to hold to the agreements, Severin said: “Everyone we met expressed their readiness to treat the law with respect and use only legal means to reach the goal. And this made us more optimistic. But after these statements were made, our interlocutors expressed other opinions, which disagreed with these statements. One should probably not get upset about such divergences. But this makes us worry.” The European parliamentarian also expressed misgivings, noting that the art of compromise and the culture of dialogue are not developed to a sufficient extent for a successful way out of the situation that has arisen.
“Everyone who is involved in this in Ukraine has to clearly understand that if we want to defend democracy, then this should be done according to the principles of operative community from the point of view of democratic processes between Ukraine and the EU countries,” Severin said. He added that this aim may be reached by building a system based on the principles of pluralism of liberal approaches, which is a representative one in the real sense of this word, not one that resembles a populist democracy, which leads to a dictatorship in the final analysis.
The head of the European Parliament’s special delegation noted that not just emotions will be important in the developing relations between Ukraine and the European Union but also the existence in Ukraine of the supremacy of law and adherence to common European values. “It is precisely in these conditions that Ukraine will have prospects for membership,” Severin emphasized, adding that the Council of the European Union and the European Commission agree on the approach to the Ukrainian situation, which he suggested.
He also noted that the European Union, especially the European Parliament, is ready to give Ukraine all possible assistance, if the need arises. The question here is about helping Ukraine’s political institutions and Ukrainian society solve all the complex problems that have arisen, as well as to continue the positive reforms for Ukraine’s further integration into the European Union. The EU and the European Parliament are also eager to pass their know-how and knowledge to help Ukraine implement constitutional reform and ensure a real system of checks and balances among the various branches of the Ukrainian government.
Broaching the subject of imperative mandate, Severin emphasized that the EU, its member countries, and the Council of Europe do not support the idea of imperative mandate, which shifts us to a system of populist democracy. He considers this a very amoral habit. What is important is to find ways to discourage parliamentarians from deserting one fraction in favor of another.
