Press Service of the People's Rukh
OurUkraine Website, Kyiv, Ukraine, Mar 23, 2004

KYIV - Answering a question from the Spanish "El Pais" publication regarding the similarity of Ukraine's and Turkey's prospects of joining EU, the head of the Verkhovna Rada committee on European integration Boris Tarasyuk noted: "The two countries are alike. Some think that, if EU agrees to start discussing Turkey's joining, it will automatically open the door for Ukraine. As if it will become obvious for everyone: if even Turkey was granted membership, why on Ukraine?"

The head of the People's Rukh does not agree with such statement. "Turkey, unlike Ukraine, is not a purely European country. It is a Eurasian country, same as Russia, which, by the way, is not even talking about joining the European Union. It is a fact; it is geography. Ukraine, on the other hand, is a European country," stressed Tarasyuk.

"We share with Turkey only the Black Sea and the desire by the governments to join EU. But the situations are completely different in Ukraine and Turkey," noted the parliamentarian.

"Our Ukraine's" representative noted that relations between Ukraine and the European Union are going through a period of stagnation at present. "The European Union lacks the understanding of the final goal of cooperation with Ukraine. EU has not yet decided whether membership is the final goal or whether it is not, whether there will be only partnership and cooperation. The Council of Europe stubbornly refuses to admit the possibility of applying article 49 of the Amsterdam treaty towards Ukraine. In it, it is stated that any country that wishes to become a member and meets all the criteria can become a member," remarked the head of the parliamentary committee's profile committee.

Tarasyuk also pointed out that there were also internal Ukrainian problems: "When Ukrainian leaders declare intentions about joining EU but, in reality, do everything to the contrary, such as signing agreement about joining the so-called "common economic zone" with Belorus, Russia, and Kazakhstan, which have no intentions of joining the European Union, it cannot by raise doubt among the European partners."

"The balance of the branches of government, the problem of the so-called "political reform," problems with the work of mass media, and falsification of the elections' results can also be mentioned here. All that creates a negative image of Ukraine. It is easy to understand that our European partners do not want to see such Ukraine in the European Union.

But we cannot say that it will stay this way forever," the parliamentarian is convinced, "We think that Ukraine has resources and opportunities for changing the situation. We are not Belorus. And, if the level of activity of the opposition in Ukraine, Belorus, Russia, and the middle-eastern countries is compared, it will become clear that Ukraine has a powerful opposition that has a chance to turn the country onto the democratic path."