From the Official Website of the European Commission, 12.09.14:
José Manuel Durão Barroso, President of the European Commission:
Press point
Kiev, 12 September 2014
"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen,
This visit to Kiev means a lot
to me. I think we can say it is a clear symbol of Europe's support to
Ukraine's sovereignty and unity. This is the first message I conveyed
once again to President Poroshenko, but also through the media here to
all the Ukrainian people. We are with you. We support you in these very
challenging times.
The meeting I had just now with
President Poroshenko was as usual very friendly, very substantive, very
productive, and we have discussed many issues related of course to the
situation in Ukraine and the relationship between Ukraine and the
European Union.
The situation in Ukraine remains
very fragile. The cease fire agreed last week, in Minsk within the
Framework of the Contact Group is certainly a positive step which needs
to be uphold and respected. However it is still insufficient to
guarantee sustainable peace.
Today we have discussed how to
best achieve progress for a sustainable political solution to the
conflict, based on the respect for Ukraine's sovereignty. This is our
primary goal - a political solution for this conflict based on the
principle of Ukraine's sovereignty.
We need a solution that has
clear guarantees regarding border security and control, as well as a
disarmament of all illegal groups and a withdrawal of any foreign
troops.
We have full confidence in
President's Poroshenko efforts and we commend his initiatives to bring
about such a solution. We support President Poroshenko's peace plan. We
call on the Russian side to show the same commitment to peace and act in
line with international norms and principles.
The European Union and the
European Commission are not sparing any efforts to bring peace to this
country and to support Ukraine overcoming this challenging period.
As I speak, a trilateral
ministerial meeting on the impact of the free trade part of our
agreement is taking place in Brussels, a meeting between Ukraine and
Russia, mediated by the European Commission.
We hope that a sustainable
solution will be found to address the economic needs of Ukraine which
just now President Poroshenko explained to me in detail; and also
hopefully to manage some Russian concerns, at the same time that it
allows the Ukrainian Parliament and the European Parliament to go ahead
with the ratification of the Association Agreement.
We are also engaged in mediating
a solution for the energy problem that guarantees a fair market price,
the settlement of past debts and secure a stable supply to Ukraine. We
hope that trilateral meetings on energy can resume in the coming days.
It is urgent to find an interim
agreement between the parties so that the gas can flow again and so that
Ukraine does not have to face the additional risk of gas shortages in
the coming winter. In this context, I would like to highlight the
positive response of the EU Member States in supporting diversification
efforts of Ukraine and activating the reverse flows to Ukraine, notably
from Poland, Hungary and (most recently) Slovakia.
And while we are committed to
reach out and seek negotiated solutions, we also do not hesitate in
responding decisively to Russia's unacceptable behaviour.
As you know the European Union
has already adopted restrictive measures in several sectors of the
economy and we have recently stepped up the pressure by deepening these
measures as well as by listing additional individuals to our visa ban
and asset freeze list. These measures aim at bringing Russia to the
conclusion that it is better to have a positive, constructive relation
both with Ukraine and the European Union. And they mean also that the
European Union and its Member States stand by Ukraine.
We all know that a country under
threat has many challenges to deal with. But I had the opportunity to
say to President Poroshenko that political reforms and national dialogue
are essential and indispensable part of the lasting, political solution
for the crisis. The decisive path for change that Ukraine has set-out
to undertake must continue. That is why I very much welcome the
announcement made by President Poroshenko that he is going to send the
law against corruption for ratification. I believe this is a very
important part of the modernisation efforts of Ukraine for a complete
rule of law system in the country.
We also believe that the next
legislative elections should be held according to all international
standards and represent a further effort to unite all Ukrainians. We
know in democracy there are sometimes divisive discussions, sometimes
even polarising debates, but I am sure that all the responsible
political leaders of Ukraine will understand that this time unity is
more important than any form of division, and that it will be possible
to express differences while safeguarding the fundamental unity of the
country.
I want to say once again to all
Ukrainian friends that we see our relationship in a strategic manner. We
are discussing these most urgent issues. We are discussing also the
economy; but one of our goals is to bring Ukraine closer and closer to
the European Union - if this is, and it is, the will of the Ukrainian
people. That is why we also address the issues that President Poroshenko
mentioned related to visa, the future visa free regime that will
certainly be a concrete way of putting the European citizens and the
members of the European Union closer to Ukraine and Ukrainian citizens
closer to us.
Let me share with you very
briefly one point on the humanitarian situation on the ground. According
to the UN, the number of displaced people in eastern Ukraine has more
than doubled during the past three weeks (260,000 people). And
approximately 9% of the overall Ukrainian population is in conflict
zones. So, just yesterday the European Commission has decided to
mobilise an additional €22 million to meet the most urgent needs of the
population, this adding to the efforts already taken.
On top of the short-term
humanitarian tasks, Ukraine might well face a huge challenge in
reconstructing the Donbas region, once hostilities subside. The European
Union will be ready to support Ukraine in this important endeavour.
We have also discussed the
economic situation of Ukraine and its assistance needs. In order to
alleviate some of Ukraine's external balance pressures and high domestic
financing needs, the EU is supporting Ukraine by providing substantial
financial assistance.
- In the short-term, our efforts are being focused on the provision of MFA in medium-term loans. Two separate programmes, worth combined EUR 1.6 billion euros, are currently available to Ukraine. 600 million euros in loans were already disbursed as well as 250 million in grants for the state building programme. We are ready to look into additional requests, of course assuming that the reform efforts will continue. And we are also ready, as I said, to look at the specific issues regarding the DCFTA that may have economic consequences to Ukraine in the short term and to have flexibility when considering these requests from our Ukrainian friends.
We are also working towards a
donor conference which has to be prepared thoroughly by the Ukrainian
side in order to bring tangible results. We will later discuss when and
how it is better to organise this.
So to conclude, President Poroshenko, dear friends,
Our message is clear. We stand
by Ukraine's sovereign choices. And stand by Ukraine's European path.
This does not have to be seen as threat to no one. I really believe that
in Europe, in the wider Europe, we all stand to benefit for a modern,
reformed, prosperous and stable Ukraine. We are therefore ready to
continue this journey with the Ukrainian people.
I thank you for your attention."
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-14-595_en.htm?locale=en
12/9/14
--
-
Related:
"What does Maidan mean?" -"The values Maidan has fought for will prevail and Maidan itself will be remembered as one of Europe's defining moments" (Štefan Füle, European Commissioner)
Poroshenko vows that Crimea will be returned to Ukraine ("not necessarily... by military means")
Russia surprised at refusal of EU representatives to comment on Ashton talk on Ukraine snipers
Kiev snipers hired by Maidan leaders - leaked EU's Ashton phone tape...
GR
FR
DE
ES
IT
RU
EU
No comments:
Post a Comment
Only News