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Where there is no law, but every man does what is right in his own eyes, there is the least of real liberty
Henry M. Robert

Europe Takes its Statute Seriously

29 May, 1999 - 00:00

By Viktor ZAMYATIN, The Day
It has happened before: a year ago the monitoring committee of the Council
of Europe mooted to suspend the Ukrainian delegation's mambership because
of Kyiv's failure to meet a whole series of commitments. What would have
been a disgrace for any of our neighboring countries is being met in Kyiv
with calm: we failed to do it, oh well. Look, we do try, but "they" give
biased assessments and employ double standards. There are many controversial
points: not all CE members have abolished capital punishment, not all of
them can boast the absence of problems with minorities and democracy. And
the Council of Europe is not an organization with world political clout,
it is only the first step toward truly influential structures. And if a
country does not meet some commonly accepted criteria and does not want
to bring its situation in line with them, it automatically loses any claims
to Europeanness and prospects of integration in various other organizations
and structures. Such a country, in the long run, loses a more or less normal
image against the general background.

The new scandal with the Council of Europe broke out immediately after
the informal Central and East European summit in Lviv, which seemed to
confirm that, at least geographically, Ukraine is still a European state,
with which dialogue is still underway. Further insistence on Ukrainian
as a special case is a sure way to being treated no better than Belarus.
The first warning has already sounded: foreign ambassadors cautiously prompt
Ukrainian rulers to hold a fair presidential election lest there be any
serious consequences.

It is evident even now that other countries deal with Ukraine only if
and when necessary, stopping short of admitting it into their company for
good. The European Union (ostensibly the coveted goal of the Ukrainian
ruling elite) is not going even to say if Ukraine has any chance at all
of becoming a member. Moreover, hints about visa treatment and trade restrictions
are assuming quite discernible features. It is easy to predict the situation
if Ukraine is officially pronounced undemocratic.

In any case, the true attitude to Ukraine is an open secret: a Ukrainian
Gastarbeiter can be easily kicked out of the Czech Republic or Poland,
for he is a man with no rights, a Ukrainian ship and its crew can be held
by a Nigerian chieftain with impunity.

These are all trifles that often prevail over any good news.

 

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