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Speech
Permanent Council No 546 of the OSCE: EU Statement on Ukraine

Date of Speech : 03-03-2005

Place : Vienna

Speaker : Jacques Reuter, Permanent Representative of Luxembourg at the OSCE

Policy area : General Affairs and External Relations


The European Union has on various instances in the past raised the case of the disappearance and murder of Georgiy Gongadze and expressed its concern at the lack of progress in the relevant investigation.

It is therefore with great satisfaction that we have learned about the recent developments in the Gongadze case, which demonstrate clearly a willingness of the Ukrainian authorities to tackle the legacies of the past. Independence of the media and freedom of expression as well as rule of law are important building blocks of democracy and the European Union would, therefore, like to encourage the Ukrainian authorities in their further efforts in this respect.

The European Union takes this opportunity to reiterate its support for Ukraine’s pursuit of democratic and economic reforms, as it values Ukraine as a key neighbour and partner of strategic importance.

In this context, the recent adoption of the European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan provides the EU and the Ukraine with a broader framework for further strengthening our relations and thus deepen both economic and political cooperation. By preventing new dividing lines from being drawn in Europe, the European Union is convinced that this Action Plan will not only promote stability, security and well-being for the people of Ukraine, but also for the whole of the OSCE area.

The Candidate Countries Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Croatia1 align themselves with this statement.

1Croatia continues to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.



This page was last modified on : 07-03-2005

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