Trust in Ukraine Extended

While debating the Ukrainian issue, PACE also elected Borys Oliynyk one of its vice-presidents, which is another manifestation of the Assembly's loyalty to Ukraine. However, one should not hope that the Council of Europe is only striving to formally receive "payments on old loans." Speaker Tunne Kelam from Estonia noted that Ukraine was to have adopted new criminal, criminal procedural, civil, and civil procedural codes as well as a new law on political parties within one year after joining the CE. Speaker Anne Severinsen said that Ukraine has problems with the freedom of expression (journalists are sometimes intimidated and murdered), the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine has not yet submitted to PACE a report on police brutality, while the state administration in some cities supersedes local representative bodies. Speakers did not leave unnoticed, in particular, the removal of Leonid Kosakivsky from office, the ambivalent position of Kyiv's current mayor, some contradictory articles of the Crimean Constitution, and the notorious events in Yalta. CE experts will conduct the next monitoring of Ukraine before its April session. It is also evident that the Council of Europe does not intend to isolate Ukraine, especially on the eve of presidential elections. It is noteworthy that in the course of discussions a consensus was reached for the first time within Ukraine's motley parliamentary delegation.

 Strasbourg