Oleksandr CHALY: Combating illegal migration must be synchronized with visa liberalization
The Day: We were eager to get to the European Conference and finally got there. What will this give Ukrainians?
Chaly: Ukraine was invited to participate in the conference together with Moldova. This will first of all offer us every opportunity to take part in extensive political dialogues with all EU member states and candidate members; we will be able to discuss all the relevant issues on the EU development agenda, and of course our own European integration. We expect to become a full member next year. The next European Conference will convene under Danish chairmanship. Our de facto membership procedures are already underway; Ukraine, Moldova, and the Russian Federation were invited to take part in one of the conference sessions precisely to discuss the struggle against terrorism. A joint declaration was adopted, approved by the EU member states and guests.
The Day: How do the new prospects of Ukrainian-EU cooperation and the Union’s traditional immigration and visa policy, with regard to Ukraine, look in the context of joint struggle against terrorism? Is the fact that Ukraine has already felt the impact of the Afghan refugee influx being taken into account?
Chaly: Ukraine has something to offer the international community, particularly the European Union, in the context of cooperation against terrorism. First, Ukraine is a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and is taking an active stand in this matter. During the early hours in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attack on America, the Security Council non-permanent members met on the premises of the Ukrainian permanent representation. It was then that the first steps were proposed and the first response to the tragedy was formulated. Ukraine has since actively generated new ideas; we proposed a joint meeting of the UN Security Council, involving foreign ministers, to discuss the antiterrorist campaign, and we proposed to declare September 11 the Day of Struggle Against Terrorism. We support the idea of an international universal convention against terrorism.
Another direction that seems effective is our cooperation with regard to specific steps taken by the antiterrorist coalition. As its member, Ukraine cooperates with the United States. Today, we stress the importance of the humanitarian aspects of the antiterrorist campaign, and here our views are in agreement with those of the European Union We have offered our military cargo planes for humanitarian aid deliveries.
We are stepping up cooperation between law enforcement and judicial authorities. The final document of the subcommittee sitting on October 26 defines the coordination for our efforts in the struggle against terrorism and data exchange procedures.
In the past couple of years, Ukraine has emphasized the need to combine efforts to combat terrorism. The European Union took a somewhat cautious stand, but after September 11 the situation changed, and now we have every opportunity to effectively cooperate with foreign law enforcement and tax authorities to fight money laundering and in other fields.
Ukraine is also a factor of stability in this region; it is a member of numerous regional organizations, among them the Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation (OBSCE), GUUAM, and Central European Initiative. In this context Ukraine may pursue an ideology of work and the EU action plan against terrorism within the context of regional cooperation. At the end of the week before last we took over the OBSCE chairmanship, and I am confident that for the duration of this chairmanship serious efforts will be made to strengthen the mechanism of cooperation among the OBSCE countries in the struggle against terrorism.
The migration and visa issues are extremely relevant in this context. We — and I personally — felt a degree of wariness hearing European Commissioner Verheugen’s statement at the European Conference. He is responsible for EU expansion and on that particular occasion he said that the boundary regime and visa procedures in the Schengen zone had to be tightened to better combat illegal migration.
Our commentary on the statement was that we understand such a package approach in principle, but we are resolutely opposed to all three components of the package being applied to Ukrainian nationals, because they are not a source of terrorism. For this reason, we maintain that if the EU wants to cooperate with Ukraine in terms of enhancing border controls and combating illegal immigration, such cooperation must be synchronized with the liberalization of visa procedures affecting Ukrainian nationals. We are now prepared to work hard with the Union, Russia, and Belarus, to sign a package of instruments concerning readmission in order to regulate the very serious issues resulting from the illegal migration onslaught. This policy must also be synchronized with quite a degree of visa liberalization for Ukrainian citizens.
At the European Conference, we also raised the issue of EU financial and technological aid to equip our eastern border, which historically does not have a proper customs and border infrastructure at a level making possible effective struggle against illegal migration. In this context we are finding understanding from the EU leadership, and during the Ukrainian-EU summit in Yalta these subjects were mentioned. We expect next year to make considerable headway in equipping our eastern frontiers, using EU capabilities.
The Day: But won’t this provoke a serious response from Moscow?
Chaly: I don’t think so. The Russian delegation was also at the European Conference and our stand in a way coincided with theirs, in matters such as readmission, finding common denominators in the struggle against illegal migration, and visa liberalization. I think that certain stereotypes in the policy of struggle against illegal migration are quickly changing. At present, every European country wants to have an effective border infrastructure allowing it to combat illegal migration. This is true, first of all, of Russia, for its borders, especially in the south, touch potentially very difficult regions. In this context it is clear that if a country wishes to build an infrastructure to combat illegal migration on its frontier, I cannot deny another country the right to do the same. I think what happened on September 11 changed the conceptual approach to the problem.
The Day: An opportunity to help equip borders seems another signal from the European Union. Yet do we really have to wait for any signals to finally start working for what we call European integration?
Chaly: In my opinion, we have received a considerable number of signals from Brussels, site of the EU headquarters, and Strasbourg, site of the European Parliament, to show that the Union doors are open to Ukraine. I believe this to be the main signal.
Today, we must concentrate on domestic work to prepare our country, economy, and population for integration into the European Union. The main thing now is to implement the potential we have in a Ukrainian- EU partnership and friendship agreement, comply with the requirements and standards imposed by the Union on new members and translate them into our daily life.
I think it significant that during the observances of the tenth anniversary of Ukrainian independence the president expressly emphasized that the problems of integration into the Union must become our domestic and foreign policy priorities. This is a very important element, and the reorganization of state administrative authorities is aimed at it. The emphasis must be on constant internal work in preparation for integration.
An important element in all this are the next parliamentary elections. First of all, they expect from us transparent, honest, and fair elections. In my opinion, the very fact that we completed, through a certain democratic discussion, the approval of the best possible election bill gives us certain expectations that we will manage to hold the elections in accord with Europe’s high standards.
Also, I would like to stress that considerable attention to this end is being paid to the freedoms of the press and expression. We must secure proper observance of the nation’s laws and Ukraine’s international commitments in this sphere. In order to facilitate this, appropriate assistance is being provided by the European Union and Council of Europe.
