Sandra KALNIETE, a European Parliament (EP) member from Latvia, Vice-Chair of the European People’s Party (EPP) Group, in charge of the neighborhood policy, visited Ukraine for the third time the other day as part of an EP delegation. She first visited Kyiv on February 20 this year to express condolences to the relatives of Maidan victims (see: “Europe’s destiny is here, in Ukraine” in The Day’s issue No. 14 from February 26, 2014). In late July Ms. Kalniete arrived in this country as part of the EPP group in the European Parliament to forge close cooperation between the influential political force and Ukraine. For this reason, we began this interview with the EP member by assessing the changes this country has undergone since then.
“THE MOST IMPORTANT CHANGE AFTER FEBRUARY 20 IS THE CREATION OF A TRUE POLITICAL NATION IN UKRAINE”
“The most important change after February 20 is the creation of a true political nation in Ukraine. According to an International Republican Institute poll, the attitude to integration into Europe is now different even in the east. Fifty to sixty percent of this region’s population is looking into this direction, as is the western and central part of Ukraine. I think it is a very important change that attests to the birth of a nation.”
What can you say about the Ukrainian government? Is it coming up to the Maidan’s expectations?
“It is up to the Ukrainians to judge. I am an outsider, and my judgments will be fragmentary. Yet I can see, taking into account your great difficulties, such as war, the necessity to carry out reforms, lack of financial resources, and energy supply problems, that the government is doing quite well. It is also very important that, according to all surveys, pro-European and reformist political forces will win the majority and will be able to form a strong coalition. Of course, this is not an easy thing to do due to rivalry among political parties. But if the newly-formed coalition fails to work effectively, people will be deeply disappointed. This represents the gravest danger because the window of opportunities will not remain open for long.
“Polls also show that many Ukrainians are prepared to go through difficulties for the sake of the future, but nobody is prepared to endure them endlessly. The government should address the main questions that arise whenever it debates with nongovernmental organizations and ordinary people – for example, begin to fight corruption. I have heard from my colleagues that a good anticorruption law has been adopted. This law should be implemented now as long as prosecution service reform and lustration are underway.”
“IF THERE ARE NO REAL CHANGES, EVERYTHING WILL REMAIN AS IT IS”
You were in the European Parliament of the previous convocation. What do MEPs think about supporting Ukraine’s European aspirations? Are they still as disappointed as they were at the end of last year?
“Things were entirely different last year. We conducted negotiations on the association agreement with the then president and government, and we harbored no illusions about them. Ever since the Euromaidan revolution, the European Parliament has been offering emotional, practical, and legislative support, and we are also aware of your difficulties – especially when the government began to face the problem of budget revenues.
“The EU has unilaterally opened its market to Ukraine, and you know that the European Parliament’s far Right and Left used a procedure that allows the blocking minority to stop fast passage of laws. But you also have a lot of friends – mostly in the EPP which I represent. You also have friends among the Greens, Socialists, and Liberals, who share and support Ukraine’s wish to integrate into Europe. We also know that Ukraine’s people and political elite are aware that if this revolution is in vain, if the political elite cheat the populace, and if there is some face-lifting instead of real changes, everything will remain as it is. This will be a long-time deception because many people have given up their lives to be European.”
ON MOGHERINI AND THE WARNINGS THE EU FAILED TO HEAR
Ms. Kalniete, were you satisfied with the answers of Federica Mogherini to the questions she was asked at the European Parliament in early October when she was being appointed Europe’s chief diplomat? You asked her how Eastern European countries could be strengthened against the backdrop of Russia’s intimidations.
“To begin with, a hearing like this is a major challenge to any person, even for the greatest professional. And hearings on international relations are still more challenging.”
Why?
“EU member states do not pursue a common European foreign policy. So she faced an almost unsolvable problem – to steer between various hidden reefs. She gave a proper answer to my question, but I was not satisfied deep inside because in many cases she gave very evasive answers. She spoke in a very impassionate official language and never showed her personal attitude. But she was giving right answers. I hope she will cope with her job because her academic and political background is encouraging.
“The greatest challenge to her is how to steer between France, Germany, Spain, and the UK and to instill the common European view about foreign affairs in these big countries. Ashton was somewhat far from these issues. She was mainly busy creating a system. By contrast, Mogherini is assuming office in a very difficult period for Europe which may be said to be surrounded by rings of fire – from Ukraine to the Middle East, Libya, and Ebola in Africa. These are enormous-scale crises that need to be settled.”
Speaking of the Ukraine crisis… When you were here in late July, you said the EU was to pressure Russia into observing the agreements to defuse the Donbas crisis. Do you think the EU is determined to build up pressure on Russia?
“The EU is ‘soft power,’ which explains many things. Secondly, the EU was romantic enough after 2008, when the first warning sounded in connection with the Russian military intervention in Georgia. The next warning rang in 2009, when Russia cut off gas supplies to Europe.
“But it was then decided to take a ‘business as usual’ attitude to Russia. At the same time, documents were adopted to set up an integrated gas transit system. In practice, though, bilateral gas supply agreements are still in force. This also explains why Putin has woven this web of dependence so skillfully. If you are a national leader and face job losses and price hikes because your partner has cut off gas supplies, you will take a very cautious approach to pressuring him. This is the difficulty we are coming across. But those who do not know the way the EU functions are perhaps unable to appreciate the progress we have made. The sanctions we have imposed are working. The ruble is falling, Russia’s major businesses cannot be refinanced and receive international loans. Besides, the incoming money is insufficient. Therefore, it is one of the reasons why Putin has stopped in Donetsk and Luhansk.”
“I WOULD RATHER BE VERY SKEPTICAL ABOUT PUTIN’S STATEMENTS BECAUSE HE IS NOT A MAN OF HIS WORD”
I would like you to comment on the results of today’s Milan summit [the interview was recorded on October 17. – Ed.]. For example, President of the European Council, Herman van Rompuy, said Putin had made it very clear that he does not want a second Transnistria and that the Donbas is an integral part of Ukraine. What will you say to this?
“I would say the following: the president of Russia has made a lot of statements since the very beginning of the conflict. He would withdraw his troops from eastern Ukraine several times and position himself as a true peacemaker, but his troops would reenter Ukraine a few days later. I’d rather be very skeptical about Putin’s statements because he is not a man of his word.”
What can the European Parliament do in this situation to help Ukraine brave the winter, for the agreement on the supply of Russian gas to Ukraine has not yet been signed?
“As for the winter, we are very much concerned about the humanitarian crisis. We expect the Ukrainian government to bring into motion the already established special agency in charge of coordinating humanitarian aid. This agency should be vested with broad powers to monitor, coordinate, and promote assistance to Donbas and Crimea refugees. It is only nongovernmental organizations that are doing this job now.
“Secondly, it is important for parliament to pass a package of laws that grant refugee status, deal with registration and taxation, as well as enable humanitarian organizations to render more aid.
“Thirdly, all the existing customs and taxation procedures, which are applied to humanitarian organizations, are very complicated and ineffective. It takes a lot of paperwork and time to do this. So, these procedures should be faster and more effective.
“On its part, the EU has resolved to make available 7.5 million euros via the International Red Cross and the UN refugee agency. The other part of the 17.5 million euros is intended for reconstruction and renovation of the apartment buildings ruined on the liberated territories. We therefore want the abovementioned agency to work.
“We are prepared to meet the needs that the Ukrainian government should spell out. I can say the government is not sufficiently involved in this. At the same time, I am astonished by self-organization of the Ukrainians. More than 300,000 refugees have already been settled with families. This shows a very high level of solidarity among the Ukrainians. But there still are 80,000 registered refugees and, maybe, much more unregistered because there is no central record. The winter is coming up, but they continue to stay in summer health centers and camps. This should be a matter of concern for the government because you can’t possibly leave small children almost outdoors.”
“WE FOUND A WAY TO BOOST UKRAINE’S DEFENSE CAPABILITY”
But still topical is the question of Ukraine’s security and capability of countering the Russian aggression. What kind of help can the EU offer, and what role can the European Parliament play in this?
“Indeed, it is a question of security and trade. It is very important that we have found a way to boost Ukraine’s defense capability. We can do this in a bilateral manner because the EU, as an organization, does not have the right, under our Treaty, to deal with defense aid. But EU member states can do this bilaterally. Some of them are ready to supply lethal weapons, technologies, know-how, and any kinds of small arms.
“It is also important that we promote trade if and when possible. We will continue to give Ukraine unilateral access to the European market. And if you look at the figures, almost 25 percent of trade lost on the Russian market has been compensated by trade with the EU. It is better than we expected.
“On the whole, as far as economic cooperation is concerned, the sooner the Ukrainian government improves transparency, the sooner the EU will be prepared to help. There are some doubts now. You have several dozen billionaires who should also make a contribution to the country’s reconstruction. For this reason, a positive trend is badly needed.
“Meeting Yatseniuk, Klitschko, Tymoshenko, and Nemyria, I tried to emphasize the importance of using this window of opportunities to combat corruption, which particularly irks the people who are really awaiting this. I hope the government will be able to do this.”
