On Tuesday 26 February, The Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, A. Yatseniuk, met with the Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union and High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana.
During the meeting, A. Yatseniuk informed his opposite number of the matters related to the operation of the Ukrainian Parliament, and the Democratic changes taking place in Ukraine. The Parties also discussed International problems, including the issue of Kosovo and co-operation of Ukraine and the EC with both their western and eastern neighbours.
Commenting to journalists on the outcome of the meeting , A. Yatseniuk referred to his conversations with J. Solana as ‘interesting, at some moments difficult, yet offering useful and effective prospects´.
Questioned by journalists on his vision of actions taken by the Opposition, and relations between the Opposition and the current Coalition in the Ukrainian Parliament, the Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine stated: ‘The Opposition´s mission lies in criticizing the Government, overseeing the Government, and taking the floor in Parliament as Opposition, but not blocking it´. Besides, its mission, according to A. Yatseniuk, is ‘to achieve the strength required to bring relevant changes to society, and become responsible to those electors who voted for the Coalition members´.
He believes that the fundamentals of European parliamentarism existing in the EU, should also be applied to Ukrainian society.
Summarizing today´s meetings with European Senior Officials. A. Yatseniuk attached much importance to the issue of Ukraine/EU co-operation in the Power Engineering sector. Given that Ukraine is among the key countries transiting and supplying power to Europe, A. Yatseniuk initiated an elaboration on a Power Policy within the EU. He believes that ‘Ukraine can and should become part of the European Power Policy.´ He admitted that Ukraine has not worked out its domestic Power Policy, and needs a systematic approach to be pursued in this area.
Touching on gas supplies to Europe, A. Yatseniuk supported the idea of long-term relations with gas suppliers, consumers and those who transfer it.
Within the framework of his one-day working visit to Brussels, the Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine also had several meetings with Leaders of the foremost European institutions.
On Tuesday he met with The Vice President of the European Parliament, Marek Sivec; Chairman of the EP Foreign Affairs Committee, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski; European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, Benita Ferrero-Waldner; and the Leader of the European People´s Party in Europarl, Joseph Daul. He replied to numerous questions from the media, etc.