Regardless of the fact that the Vilnius Summit is coming not in several months or weeks, but in several days, one of its main requirements, to release Tymoshenko, has not been met. The Verkhovna Rada has registered several drafts that principally differ by their approaches to the release of the former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko and her further political activity. Taking into account a certain lack of time and a weak capability to find compromises, Cox-Kwasniewski mission gave its verdict to the suggested drafts. According to the European representatives, the act developed by the non-faction MP Anzhelika Labunska is the best one. However, the MPs from the Party of Regions refuse to support the alternative draft stipulating that Tymoshenko will be released because of her illness and sent for treatment, but not rehabilitated in her civil rights.
“We are ready to consider Labunska’s project but we support Mishchenko’s one [introducing the so-called break from imprisonment. – Ed.] As for the projects we have to hand in to the Venetian Commission, we are on the schedule,” MP from the Party of Regions Volodymyr Makeienko told The Day. According to him, paying this political price for signing the Association Agreement goes beyond the world’s experience. “It is strange that the agreement between the EU and Ukraine has a list of laws required to adapt the Ukrainian legislation and the addendum concerns a specific person. It does not matter what her surname is, we cannot create a draft law for her. I have been making laws for many years and I can say that we have to create a law the way that thousands of imprisoned criminals could not use it. It is a complicated issue. However, we are ready to examine it and vote,” Makeienko summed up. However, he could not tell us the exact date of reading the document in the parliament.
MP from Batkivshchyna Andrii Pavlovsky strongly believes that all the talks about the judicial imperfection of Labunska’s project are just speculations. “Cox-Kwasniewski mission recommended accepting the project without amendments. They clearly made Yanukovych understand that if the EU’s requests are not fulfilled, the Association Agreement will not be signed,” Pavlovsky shared his opinion. In particular, the MP emphasized the manipulative nature of the other projects. In his opinion, they are needed to stretch time. “We are aspiring to the association with the EU, which is way we consider their opinion and will support the project chosen by Cox-Kwasniewski mission. They clearly chose Labunska’s project.”
Makeienko opines that there might be a certain conflict when voting for the consensus project not only among the majority, but also inside the opposition. Imagine the meeting between them and Tymoshenko not in Kharkiv, where there were specific conditions and where certain things could not be made public for technical and moral reasons, but in Berlin. They are not going to speak about the necessity to stick together and fight. It will be a complicated conversation. The main question Tymoshenko will ask is: where are my deputies? Where are Filenko, Hryniv, Stetskiv? Why is not Sas the first deputy of the regulatory committee? Why are the businessmen, who have never been politicians, on the lists? Why have they quitted the faction? The opposition is afraid of this and is putting off solving Tymoshenko question. For example, last week they did not hold the meeting of the profile committee. Besides, they included the draft laws about an impeachment of the president and canceling the communist party. They found time for this. Is it so necessary to solve these questions right now? The answer is simple: a part of the oppositionists do not want to be in the shadow of one lady and one gentleman does not want to lose his leadership in the faction and the party,” Makeienko summed up.
The leaders of the factions agreed to vote for the four projects about treatment of the imprisoned abroad on Thursday morning. However, it is too early to speak about reaching a consensus as for adopting the recommended alternative project.
