VRU foreign affairs committeemen meet their colleagues from EU Parliament to discuss topical issues of interrelations
06 December 2019, 16:30
Members of the VRU Committee on Foreign Affairs and Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation met on December 6 with their colleagues from the EU Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs led by the committee chair David McAllister
The parties discussed a number of topical international issues in the field of security, defence, economy, energy, including relations with Belarus in the context of its close cooperation with Russia, the forthcoming Normandy format meeting, as well as priority areas of parliamentary work.
Particular attention was paid to the future of the Eastern Partnership, in particular through the implementation of the “Trio 2030 Strategy” initiative, which should distinguish Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova from other Eastern Partnership member countries as they more dynamically implement their association agreements with the EU.
The Ukrainian side once again stressed that the settlement of the situation in the Donbas, the cessation of the war and the de-occupation of the Crimea should remain among top priorities on the European agenda.
Ukraine considers the Russian aggression to be a real challenge for the whole of Europe, which requires close coordination of Ukraine’s further steps with the actions of EU institutions and member states, since only through concerted actions it is possible to force the Kremlin to cessate its military aggression.
The parties stated that there is a common understanding of clear red lines, in particular the unchanged position on the territorial integrity of Ukraine and its sovereignty in the uncontrolled territories of the Donbas and the temporarily occupied Crimea.
The European colleagues were apprised about the irreceivability to hold any elections in the uncontrolled territories of the Donbas under the Russian scenario and at gunpoint without observing the current electoral legislation of Ukraine, and OSCE standards.
At the MEPs’ request, the committeemen provided them with information on the current state of NATO-Ukraine-Council of Europe relations, the implementation of reforms in Ukraine, and relations with the Ukrainian diaspora, etc.