Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-10-27-Speech-3-139"
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"en.20041027.9.3-139"2
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"Mr President, Mr Verheugen has given us a good description of events in Ukraine, as he avoided speaking in black and white terms, resorting instead to shades of grey. We have a tendency to perceive everything positively, like the Ukrainian authorities, or negatively, like the opposition. Everything appears to be either good or bad. In Ukraine, however, everything is either partly good or partly bad.
I will act as chairman of Parliament’s observation mission, and I can assure you that the message we are taking to Ukraine is a positive one. We wish to assist Ukrainians to build democracy and respect certain principles. We are not going there with the intention of supporting anyone. We are going to observe the conduct of the elections. The aim of our visit is to bring European standards to the Ukrainian public.
It should be borne in mind that the elections in Ukraine will not be the catalyst for a revolution. The mood among the Ukrainian public is not one of expectancy that revolutionary changes will occur. I do not believe that Mr Yushchenko will introduce revolutionary changes if he wins, nor that Mr Yanukovich will become an
of President Kuchma if he does.
We need to ask ourselves what contemporary Ukraine is actually like. How does it differ from other countries of the former Soviet Union? Speakers in this House have said that a genuine political battle is being fought, and indeed where else is a genuine political battle being fought in this region? A month before the elections in Ukraine we do not know who will be President. In the case of the Russian elections, however, it was a foregone conclusion. The existence of any genuine opposition and any genuine alternative at all in Ukraine is an achievement of the past few years. It is also an achievement for the European Union and the countries that supported the opposition.
We should not forget, however, that even the victory of an opposition representative would not mean that relations with the European Union could be scaled down. It would simply pose new challenges. Russia’s unprecedented influence is an aspect that must not be overlooked, as this is the first time the latter has exerted its influence on such a scale. We must be patient and consistent in our relations with Ukraine, and for this we also need time."@en1
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