Remarks
by Ukrainian Parliamentary Chairman Oleksandr MOROZ
at the Opening Ceremony of 16th Annual Session
of OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
(Kyiv, July 5, 2007)

 

Dear President of the Assembly!

Dear Mr. OSCE President!

Ladies and Gentlemen!

I am glad to welcome you to the Ukrainian capital for the 16th annual session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

I would like to express my deep gratitude to the delegation of the participating state as well as to everyone who came to attend the session.

I have been working in this session hall for over 18 years and can say that it has never seen such a high assembly and I am happy about this.

The holding of the session of the Organization of the Parliamentary Assembly on Kyiv this year is a sign of respect on the part of the OSCE towards our state, the role of the Ukrainian Parliament in developing democratic institutions, strengthening the rule of law and respect for human rights.

Ukraine appreciates the OSCE´s activities and regards the events it organizes as good opportunities for discussion and seeking solutions for the problems of the European security architecture.

We see a stepping up in inter-parliamentary cooperation as an important factor for saving peace and stability in the entire territory under the OSCE´s responsibility, a driving force in integration, including Ukraine´s integration, into the united European home.

First of all, I would like to acknowledge the growing role that the Organization and more specifically OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is playing in securing the democratic election process. During the 2004 and 2006 elections in Ukraine, the OSCE observer delegation was one of the largest and its work facilitated the objectiveness of the election process and its democratic nature.

The current political situation in Ukraine is a sign of a complicated process of democratic development of our state. Representatives of Ukrainian political forces are facing the following tasks: to establish a really efficient mechanism of distribution of power and improving national legislation in accordance with the highest European standards.

As an OSCE member state, Ukraine has to commit itself to the Organization´s principles. That is why, on the difficult path of transformation of the political system, our Parliament is being guided by the need to strictly follow the commitments Ukraine undertook under Helsinki process and respect for the principles of its final basic Document Act, provisions of which became the best foundation for the development, wellbeing and prosperity of contemporary united Europe.

We proceed from the premises that the parliamentary component of the OSCE is to be an efficient tool,

first, to counter attempts to weaken parliamentary oversight and control over respect for the principles of transparency in the activities of executive bodies;

second, to prevent illegal interference in the law drafting process and law-enforcement activities of the state authorities, officials and other officials, their artificial and sometimes even forceful obstruction;

third, to ensure the attraction on a permanent basis of the attention of state authorities to the need to preserve the independence of legislative bodies in the system of state power institutions, which is the "alpha and omega" of any really democratic state.

Ladies and gentlemen!

The years that passed after have passed since adoption of the Helsinki Act have proved not only the positive impact of cooperation on strengthening the safety of Europe but also added new contemporary issues and challenges to the agenda; namely those related to development of parliamentarism as a cornerstone of people´s rule.

In this context, I would like to suggest that we organize an OSCE conference in the parliamentary dimension format on "Development of Parliamentarism: Problems and Objectives". This will be especially important for young democracies and I believe that such a conference would be useful.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Ukraine appreciates the participation of the OSCE and its Parliamentary Assembly not only from the point of view of obvious advantages from accomplishment of the main tasks of the Organization but also from the point of view of common foreign and security policy and an opportunity to satisfy the Euro-interregional aspirations of Ukraine.

We believe that the OSCE parliamentary dimension cannot leave such important problems as fighting xenophobia and anti-Semitism without attention.

We welcome the organization of a high-level OSCE Conference in Bucharest. This event, along with the previous conferences held in Cordoba, Berlin and Vienna, will facilitate the establishment of an efficient mechanism of cooperation between member states.

 

One of problems of education and civilization today is the problem of energy provision.

The lack of effective economic mechanisms in the energy sector leads to polarization of these issues and creates additional tension.

On the European Continent a civilized mechanism has been established for harmonization of national and international relations in the energy sphere the Energy Charter. In our opinion, this document should be developed so that its principles are balanced with the national interests of all states participating in the energy dialog. We advocate equal rights of both states that extract and produce energy resources and of those that act as consumers and of those that perform transitory functions.

 

Ladies and gentlemen!

The world knows about the efforts of OSCE member states to achieve real changes in adherence to the principles of democracy and partnership. The PA OSCE makes a significant contribution to this work.

I am also sure that development of political dialog within the framework of the organization to facilitate the further intensification of cooperation and mutual understanding between states and nations.

As a representative of the host state I will not add our problems, which we must resolve ourselves, to those that are to be discussed by our guests. However, to be completely objective I have to say that Ukraine is today witnessing a really anti-constitutional attack from the institution of the presidency on parliamentarism, democracy and European values and ideals. And this is not quite in line with what the President said recently here, or rather not in line at all. However, I will repeat that these are our internal problems and we will solve them independently.

Rounding off my remarks, I would like to wish all participants and guests of the session fruitful discussions and rewarding work.

Thank you for your attention!

 

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