Borys Tarasiuk, Chairman of the European Integration Committee, Authorized Member of the Verkhovna Rada Standing Delegation in the EU-Neighbourhood-East Parliamentary Assembly (EURONEST PA), presented The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine at the Meeting of the European Parliament Delegation in the EURONEST PA
17 September 2010, 13:33
The meeting with the participation of the representatives of the national parliaments of Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Moldova took place in Brussels, on September 16, 2010.
The attendants discussed the drafts of the memorandum and the standing orders of the Assembly, exchanging opinions about the possible format of participation of the Belarusian delegation in EURONEST PA. The parliament members suppose that indeterminacy of the Belarusian issue blocks the start of the full-fledged work of the Assembly, a parliamentary component of a new EU initiative "Eastern Partnership." The European Parliament believes that parliamentary elections in Belarus in 2008 were non-democratic, and refuses to recognize legitimacy of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus. The European Parliament supposes that the delegation of the members of Belarusian opposition should take part in the Assembly as observers instead of the Belarusian MPs.
B.Tarasiuk presented an alternative suggested
by the Ukrainian Party: the formula "10 Belarusian parliament members as
full-fledged participants and 10 representatives of the Belarusian civic
society as special guests." This formula combines non-discriminatory approach
to the participation of Belarus
with the special attitude of the European Parliament to the Belarusian Parliament.
The Committee Chairman stated that "Ukraine appraised the state of human rights and freedoms observance in Belarus, and resolved that isolation of this country is counterproductive and bear a negative impact on the Belarusian people." He declared that "development of dialogue with Belarus and its involvement in the all-European processes will bring the political signals of international democratic community to Belarusian leaders. EURONEST PA can become a reliable channel for these signals."
B.Tarasiuk stated that "final decision on the full-fledged participation of the Belarusian party in EURONEST PA will depend on the democratic character of the forthcoming presidential elections in Belarus scheduled for December 19, as correlation to the next parliamentary elections in Belarus delays the start of the full-fledged work of EURONEST PA till 2012."