The move is geared to bring Ukrainians closer to the European Parliament, and comes at a time when Poland is pushing for the finalisation of an association agreement between the EU and Ukraine during Warsaw’s EU Council Presidency.
“This is a part of my activity linked to the promotion of European integration in the Ukraine,” Zalewski told the PAP news agency, adding that “I am often in Kyiv to meet with representatives from various milieux. The intensity of the contacts proved a need to open an office here for the duration of Poland’s [EU Council] presidency and the negotiations of the association agreement.”
Two institutions are to benefit the most from the office, including the Ukrainian Association of Entrepreneurs and Industrialists, which, according to Zalewski, is to allow the European Parliament to tap into Ukrainian business knowhow.
The ‘Europe Without Borders’ organisation, which gathers representatives of civic society and independent experts, will also gain from the office’s presence in Kyiv.
As Zalewski states, “the issue of citizens’ freedoms is key with regards to the process of European integration.”
Tensions over Tymoshenko case
The move comes at a time when the EU has criticised the authorities in Ukraine for arresting former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who is accused of misuse of public office during the signing of a gas deal with Russia in 2008.
France and Germany believe that the arrest of Tymoshenko is a symbol of oppression towards opposition movements in Ukraine, and as such want to suspend talks on the association agreement until she is released from custody.
However, Poland is for the continuation of dialogue regardless.
“The Ukrainian authorities are aware that the imprisonment of Yulia Tymoshenko is a problem in EU-Ukraine relations and that goes against the standards which Ukraine strives towards,” MEP Zalewski said.
“I’m sure that a solution can be found to this problem, however,” Zalewski added optimistically.
Last week, former Polish president Aleksander Kwasniewski was in Ukraine to meet his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yanukovych to discuss Tymoshenko’s release.
At a meeting in Yalta on Saturday, Kwasniewski mooted that the Ukrainian criminal law may be changed so that charges brought against Tymoshenko would be dropped as a result.
“I don’t know how the Tymoshenko case will be resolved,” Pawel Zalewski told PAP, although he added that “I believe that the Ukrainian authorities understand that the [political] opposition cannot be treated this way. Decisions of the future of politicians and their parties should be dictated by the electorate, not the courts.” (jb)