Address by Dr Javier SOLANA, High Representative of the

S0317/04
Address
by Dr Javier SOLANA,
High Representative of the European Union
for the Common Foreign and Security Policy,
before the Committee for Foreign Relations of the European Parliament,
on Ukraine
24 November 2004
________________________________________
Intervención de
Javier SOLANA,
Alto Representante de la Unión Europea para la PESC,
sobre Ucrania
ante la Comisión de Asuntos Exteriores del Parlamento Europeo
Bruselas, 24 de noviembre de 2004
FOR FURTHER DETAILS:
Spokesperson of the Secretary General, High Representative for CFSP
+32 (0)2 285.6467 / 6217 / .8239 / 6217/ 5150 / 5151 +32 (0)2 285.5694
internet: http://ue.eu.int/solana
e-mail: [email protected]
Bi-lingual, as addressed - Full version in English also available
Señoras, Señores:
Gracias por su invitación a dirigirme a ustedes sobre los últimos acontecimientos en Ucrania.
Centraré mis comentarios en torno a tres cuestiones:
1) la situación actual en Ucrania
2) los procedimientos legales disponibles
3) el marco que ofrecen las relaciones UE-Ucrania
Tras la segunda ronda de las elecciones presidenciales Ucrania se encuentra en un cruce de camino
en su marcha hacia el establecimiento de una sociedad plenamente democrática y cuanto a sus
relaciones con la UE. La situación es compleja y muy delicada. En estos momentos el Presidente
saliente Kuchma está discutiendo con la oposición para encontrar una salida a la actual crisis. Las
manifestaciones en la calle continúan. Puede surgir algo positivo o negativo. No estoy seguro que se
va a producir una negociación.
Me felicito por los contactos que están teniendo lugar en Kiev. Es esencial llegar a una solución que
refleje la voluntad del electorado de Ucrania.
La UE ha seguido de cerca los preparativos electorales. He hablado personalmente con los dos
principales candidatos durante la campaña electoral, así como con el Presidente Kuchma. Ante los
tres he subrayado la importancia de un proceso electoral libre, justo y transparente, en el que la
igualdad de oportunidades quedase garantizada para todos los candidatos.
En los pasados meses hemos visto cómo la población ucraniana se ha ido involucrando más
profundamente que nunca anteriormente en el proceso democrático, a pesar de que la campaña no
ofreció el mismo terreno de juego a todos los candidatos, en particular en lo que se refiere al acceso
a los medios informativos. Se percibían claramente las ansías y esperanzas de la población en que
cuajara un verdadero proceso democrático.
Ningún candidato alcanzó la mayoría en la primera ronda, el 31 de octubre. La participación
electoral en la segunda ronda fue muy elevada. Los sondeos a la salida de las urnas parecían dar la
victoria a Yuschenko, que también había obtenido más votos, por escaso margen, en la primera
ronda. No obstante, tras el recuento de más del 99% de los votos, Yanukovych, el candidato
gubernamental, sería según la Comisión Central Electoral el ganador oficial, con 49% de los votos,
frente a 47% para Yuschenko, casi tres puntos de diferencia. La Comisión Electoral Central es
nombrada por el Presidente y sólo cuenta con dos representantes de la oposición sobre un total de
17 miembros.
Yuschenko y sus partidarios han rechazado los resultados oficiales provisionales y acusan a las
autoridades de un fraude electoral de gran escala, valoración que respaldan los observadores
internacionales.
La oposición se ha lanzado masivamente a las calles, cada vez más personas llegan a Kiev
procedentes del Oeste y Centro. Una gran pueblo-tienda ha sido erigida en el centro de la capital
para albergar a los manifestantes durante la noche. Los partidarios de Yuschenko se manifiestan
también en otras ciudades del Centro y Oeste de Ucrania. También nos llegan informes según los
cuales partidarios de Yanukovich estarían siendo transportados a Kiev en grandes números. Aunque
estén celebrándose negociaciones para encontrar una solución en estos momentos, no cabe descartar
que puedan producirse estallidos de violencia. Las autoridades están en estado de alerta, aunque
ambos lados hasta ahora han rehuido sabiamente acciones provocativas.
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Además de las manifestaciones los ayuntamientos de Kiev y otras ciudades del Centro y del Oeste
han anunciado que no reconocerían a Yukanoych como Presidente electo. Numerosos diplomáticos
ucranianos, incluyendo el Embajador en Washington han hecho declaraciones similares. Los
miembros de la oposición dentro de la Comisión Central Electoral han amenazado con dimitir. Una
división profunda entre los ruso-hablantes del Este y Ucrania central y occidental amenaza al país.
La comunidad internacional, junto con observadores domésticos ucranianos había desplegado un
importante esfuerzo de observación electoral. La misión de observación de la OSCE, a la que el
Parlamento europeo aportó una valiosa contribución, difundió su valuación preliminar el 22 de
Noviembre. El veredicto es claro: la segunda ronda de las elecciones presidenciales ucranianas no
satisfacía los 'standards' internacionales establecidos.
Election observer reports talk about massive fraud in the voting. In connection to the first round,
held on 31 October, the International Election Observation Mission (IEOM) led by the Organisation
for Security in Europe/Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR),
already drew attention to serious problems in the pre-election campaign, but gave election day itself
a relatively clean bill of health. With the second round, there are reported widespread cases of
intimidation, ballot-stuffing and bussing of voters from one electoral district to another. A specific
problem seems to have been the high use of mobile ballot boxes -- normally meant for those who
are physically not able to come themselves to a polling station; in some districts these voters are
reported to have accounted for over 10 % of the vote. It is difficult to believe the unnaturally high
voter turnout in the Donetsk region. Voting day did not pass without incidents of violence. A police
officer was killed at a polling station in the Central Ukraine. There are also reported cases of
beatings of opposition observers. These problems were also highlighted by the IEOM's initial
findings, published in the afternoon of 22 November. (The Head of the European Parliament
Delegation to the IEOM was MEP Marek Maciej Siwiec.)
The EU Foreign Ministers discussed the Ukrainian elections on 22 November at the General Affairs
and External Relations Council, and agreed on a strongly-worded statement, issued later on in the
day by the Presidency. The statement notes that in light of the OSCE/ODIHR report the EU
seriously questions whether the official results will fully reflect the will of the Ukrainian electorate
and called on the Ukrainian authorities to review together with OSCE/ODIHR the electoral process
and results. The EU also strongly called on the Ukrainian authorities to show restraint and all sides
to express themselves in a non-violent manner.
All EU states have called in Ukraine's Ambassador in their capitals to convey the EU's concerns to
the Ukrainian authorities. In this context, my office met yesterday with the Ukrainian Ambassador
to the EU. Presidency Prime Minister Balkenende also spoke on 23 November over the telephone
with both President Kuchma and Ukrainian Parliament Speaker Lytvyn about the post-election
situation. Polish President Kwasniewski, also in his capacity as Chairman of the Council of Europe,
has also made a critical statement on the conduct of the elections and has proposed a meeting
between the opponents and President Kuchma, with representatives of the international community.
I also had a long telephone call with President Kwasniewski on the situation in Ukraine.
Similar statements have also been made by both the US State Department and Senator Richard
Lugar, who has been observing the Ukrainian elections as the personal representative of US
President George W. Bush. Senator Lugar spoke about "a concerted and forceful programme of
election day fraud and abuse". The US have also spoken about adopting sanctions against the
Ukrainian leadership. On 23 November, President Bush came out with a statement calling for a
review of the conduct of the elections and for the Ukrainian government to respect the will of the
Ukrainian people and not to certify election results before investigations of organised fraud are
resolved.
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President Putin of Russia, who endorsed Mr Yanukovych's candidacy, has called the Prime Minister
to congratulate him. Russian Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov, in Kiev as Mr Putin's representative,
also congratulated Yanukovych for a well deserved victory. The Russian leadership has since
retracted its recognition of Mr Yanukovych's victory and has called for a more balanced approach
from all parties. Byelorussian President Lukashenka has also congratulated Mr Yanukovych. -- The
Russian government has criticised the EU for inciting violence - a charge without foundation.
While the Russian Federation has openly supported one of the candidates, the EU's concerns are
about the realisation of democratic standards manifested by transparent procedures and legal
recourse. Ukraine is an important partner for the Union. But this partnership cannot develop without
shared values of democracy.
On the procedures for electing a President:
According to Ukrainian law, the presidential election results need to be confirmed by the Central
Electoral Commission (CEC) no later than 6 December. After the confirmation of the results, the
new President is to assume office within 30 days, with an oath of office in Parliament.
In this process and under Ukrainian legislation, there are legal procedures to address suspected
cases of electoral fraud. When the EU yesterday called upon the Ukrainian authorities to review the
electoral process and results, it was precisely the need to make use of the procedures envisaged in
Ukrainian legislation. These procedures need to be used in a transparent manner, in order to ensure
that the will of the Ukrainian electorate is realised and that the next President of Ukraine enjoys the
legitimacy, which any President of a modern democracy needs to have. After the first round of the
elections we saw that Ukrainian courts tackled opposition complaints in a professional and
independent manner. Mr Yuschenko's team has already lodged at least 6500 separate complaints to
the various appeal courts.
Ladies and Gentlemen
The coming days and weeks will be crucial for both Ukraine's own development as well as the
future of the EU - Ukraine relationship.
Ukraine is a strategically important neighbour for the EU. At present, the contractual basis for the
EU - Ukraine relationship is the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) between the Union
and Ukraine. From this basis, we have set out to build a closer partnership with Ukraine.
Ukraine is of crucial importance for the success of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP),
which brings important elements of closer integration into the relationship. An ENP Action Plan has
been negotiated between the EU and Ukraine, and is to be adopted in the near future.
There is considerable potential in our relationship with Ukraine, and this potential needs to be
realised. There is much for both the EU and Ukraine to gain from deeper trade and economic
relations, increased people-to-people contacts and political partnership. But, for closer integration
we need common values. The quality of our relationship with Ukraine will depend on the quality of
their democracy.
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