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Emergency Resolution on Ukraine

Adopted by the EPP Congress, Dublin (Ireland), 6th -7th March 2014
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  1. The EPP strongly condemns the invasion of Russian troops on the sovereign territory of Ukraine as a breach of international law and calls on President Putin to stop and withdraw any Russian armed forces from the sovereign territory of Ukraine and therefore to allow for a peaceful solution of the current crisis, in full respect of inter- national law;
  1. Stresses that such act of aggression is unacceptable and will lead to very serious con- sequences in EU-Russia relations and beyond, to further isolation of Russia, and to further targeted measures;
  1. Calls on Russia to respect its international  treaty obligations, first and foremost the UN Charter, the OSCE Helsinki Final Act as well as the Budapest Memorandum on Se- curity Assurances in which the Russian Federation with the US and the UK guaranteed the existing borders of Ukraine. Russia has committed itself in the same act to refrain- ing from economic coercion designed to subordinate to its own interest the exercise by Ukraine of the rights inherent to its sovereignty;
  1. Strongly  rejects  Russian  claims  of  discrimination  of  Russian  speaking  citizens  of Ukraine and the defamation of peaceful protestors as fascists:  these are lies spread by propaganda for which there is no evidence whatsoever. It was Yanukovych  who ordered the violent acts against peaceful demonstrators and the killings;
  1. Condemns the decision of illegitimate authorities of Crimea to hold a referendum on joining the Russian Federation, such referendum violates Ukrainian Constitution and therefore is unconstitutional; reminds the illegitimacy of Crimean authorities, elected in unclear circumstances in presence of armed forces;
  1. Underlines,  that the Ukrainian  Parliament,  the Acting President  and the new Gov- ernment of Ukraine are fully legitimate, with the latter two elected by a legitimate Parliament in fulfilment of the 21st  February agreement. Also points out that former President Yanukovych breached this agreement he had signed, and subsequently fled the country;
  1. Underlines the utmost importance of international observation and mediation, wel- comes a possible OSCE fact-finding Mission to Crimea and to other parts of Ukraine and points to the crucial importance of international facilitation efforts; believes that a contact group established within the OSCE would provide for a useful platform in this regard;
  1. Urges the Russian  authorities  to enter  into dialogue  with the new government  of Ukraine, so as to address Russian concerns as well as regarding political and econom- ic relations;
  1. Underlines the importance of coordinated European and international efforts to sta- bilise  situation  in  Ukraine,  calls  for  a  European  led  international  effort  to  assist Ukraine financially  with funds coming from the EU budget and EU related international financial institutions (EIB, EBRD); welcomes the proposal by the Commission for such an EU contribution  of around 11 bln Euros; supports strongly an international donor coordination mechanism to be initiated and coordinated by the European Commission,  bringing together EU Member States, the IMF, the World Bank, EBRD and EIB as well as other countries to bring about an international financial package;
  1. Calls on the EU Commission and EU Member States to provide, in addition to financial assistance, technical assistance as regards constitutional reform, the strengthening of the rule of law, and the fight against corruption in Ukraine;
  1. Welcomes the commitment of the new Ukrainian Government  to an ambitious re- form agenda comprising political, economic and social change;
  1. Welcomes the conclusions of the extraordinary  Foreign Affairs Council  of 3 March 2014 and, of an extraordinary informal meeting of EU Heads of State or Government of 6 March 2014, which express both financial and political support for Ukraine, and reactions towards Russia;
  1. Expresses full support to the  new  government  headed  by  Prime  Minister  Arseniy Yatsenyuk and encourages it to strengthen inclusiveness at all levels of government and ensure the equality of all citizens, including protection of minorities; welcomes the responsible role played by the Verkhovna Rada in assuming its full constitutional functions and filling the political and institutional vacuum created by the resignation of the government and the dismissal of the President; appreciates the restraint exer- cised by the new Ukrainian leadership in face of the Russian invasion;
  1. Strongly supports the EPP member parties Batkivshchyna and UDAR, underlines their leading role in the democratic transformation and European course of Ukraine, en- courages the leadership of the parties to continue their strong cooperation and to as- sume joint responsibility for the democratic developments of Ukraine;
  1. Expresses its deepest condolences to the families of the victims, strongly condemns all acts of violence and calls on all Ukrainian citizens, along with political and civic leaders, to act with the utmost responsibility in this historic moment for Ukraine;
  1. Stresses that those who committed crimes against the citizens of Ukraine should face independent investigations and trials under the rule of law based on the principles of the Council of Europe; calls for the setting up of an independent commission to inves- tigate, in close collaboration with the Council of Europe International Advisory Panel and the OSCE, the human rights violations that have taken place since the beginning of the demonstrations;
  1. Commends the people of Ukraine, the civil society of Euromaidan and the leaders of the opposition on the swift change in power and on their civic resilience in the past few months, and underlines that this civic and popular protest serves as an example and will mark a watershed in the history of Ukraine;
  1. Welcomes the release of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko from prison, and is convinced that her release will symbolise the end of selective and politically motivat- ed justice in Ukraine; commends dignity, political courage and leadership she consist- ently demonstrated for the sake of independent, democratic and prosperous Ukraine and her commitment to the European Integration course;
  1. Welcomes that the acting president has not signed the decision on the language law; calls on the Ukrainian Parliament and the new government for the adoption of new legislation in line with Ukraine’s obligations under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages which will assure the respect of the rights of citizens in the country and the use of Russian and other minority languages;
  1. Urges all political forces to work together at this critical juncture for Ukraine, towards a peaceful political transition, an ambitious and broad-based reform agenda and a European-standards-oriented government, to uphold the unity and territorial integri- ty of the country, and to facilitate compromise solutions for the future of Ukraine;
  1. Reiterates the EU´s readiness to provide, in cooperation with the international com- munity and international   financial  institutions,  long-term  financial  assistance  to Ukraine, so as to support the reform efforts of its government;
  1. Points to the EU´s readiness to sign the Association Agreement, including a DCFTA, as soon as possible, starting from the political part of the AA which we could sign imme- diately as proposed by the EU Council; insists on clear signals demonstrating to Russia that nothing in this agreement endangers or harms future cooperative bilateral politi- cal and economic relations between Ukraine and Russia; welcomes the recent recog- nition by the Council that the Association Agreement, including a DCFTA, does not constitute the final goal in EU–Ukraine cooperation; stresses furthermore that Article 49 TEU refers to all European States, including Ukraine, which has a European per- spective, and may apply to become a Member of the Union, provided that it adheres to the principles of democracy, respects fundamental freedoms and human and mi- nority rights, and ensures the rule of law; calls on signing the Association agreement with Georgia and Moldova as soon as possible on the same basis;
  1. Stresses the importance  of  secure,  diversified  and  affordable  energy  supply  for Ukraine,  in this  regard  underlines  the strategic  role  of  the Energy  Community,  of which  Ukraine  holds  the  presidency  in 2014,  and building  up Ukraine’s  resistance against energy threats coming from Russia; reminds of the need to increase EU stor- age capacities and provide reverse flow of gas from EU Member States for Ukraine; welcomes EU Commission’s proposal to modernise the Ukraine’s Gas Transit System as well as the proposal to assist in its payments of debts to Gazprom;
  1. Calls on the Council and the Commission to speed up the visa dialogue with Ukraine, so as to advance on the path to introducing visa free regime, following Moldovan ex- ample.


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