11/12/2009 Monitoring
Strasbourg, 10.12.2009 – Renate Wohlwend (Liechtenstein, EPP/CD), co-rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for the monitoring of Ukraine, announced on Tuesday an agreement on the establishment of a clear roadmap for the adoption of the legal reforms demanded by the Council of Europe.
Speaking to journalists at the end of a two-day visit to Ukraine, Mrs Wohlwend said: “In my meeting with the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Mr Volodymyr Lytvyn, we agreed that, immediately after the Presidential elections, the Rada would establish, in close consultation with the Monitoring Committee of the Assembly, a specific roadmap, including realistic timetables, for the adoption of the legal reforms that are part of Ukraine’s commitments to the Council of Europe.” However, she stressed that the adoption of these legal reforms alone would not imply that Ukraine’s monitoring could be ended. “For that, it is also necessary that these reforms are implemented and that the country in general lives up to its obligations as a member state of the Council of Europe,” said the co-rapporteur.
Mrs Wohlwend also expressed her concern about recent challenges to the coming into force, on 1 January 2010, of the anti-corruption laws that were recently adopted by the Verkhovna Rada. Ms Wohlwend was informed by the Supreme Court about the concerns of judges that the provisions that prohibit funding for the court system other than from the state budget would undermine the functioning of many courts in Ukraine. However, Mrs Wohlwend stressed that such a prohibition was essential for the efficient fight against corruption, which continues to be a major problem in Ukraine. At the same time, she also recognised the challenges facing the courts, and called upon the authorities to ensure that sufficient funding is made available to ensure the efficient functioning of the court system.
The co-rapporteur also expressed her disappointment and deep regret over the failure of the Verkhovna Rada to adopt, last week, a package of amendments that were intended to address the concerns of the Venice Commission about the heavily-criticised changes to the Law on the Election of the President of Ukraine that were adopted in August 2009, as well as to ensure the implementation of the Constitutional Court ruling that declared a number of the August 2009 changes unconstitutional. “I understand that there will still be an attempt to adopt these amendments in the coming week, and I call upon all political forces not to obstruct their adoption as they are important to ensure a democratic election process in January,” Mrs Wohlwend said.