Ukraine has enough time to Join EU

August 23, 2013 KYIV (Interfax-Ukraine) Batkivschyna faction leader Arseniy Yatseniuk has said that within one-and-a-half months Ukraine should fulfill all requirements of the European Union for the signing of the Association Agreement.

“We set such tasks for ourselves. Why is this round table necessary for political forces? We want this round table to result in the adoption by the Verkhovna Rada at first reading and as a whole those bills that are needed for the signing of the agreement between Ukraine and the EU, as bills agreed by all political forces,” he said on Friday during a national round table “Consent for the Sake of European Future.”

He said that such progress had been shown at the last session of the Verkhovna Rada, when MPs passed seven bills necessary for Ukraine’s integration into the EU and these bills were signed by the leaders of all factions that are interested in the country’s European aspirations.

Yatseniuk expressed hope that the remaining one-and-a-half months during which the Verkhovna Rada and the Ukrainian president should make respective important political decisions would be used effectively.

“I would like to stress separately the time frames when Ukraine should take concrete steps to ensure that the EU signs the agreement with Ukraine,” he said.

“We can say that the deadline for the adoption of all legislative acts and the demonstration of the political and legal will on the need to sign this agreement is one-and-a-half months. We have only six weeks to put an end to the fulfillment of all criteria that are on the agenda for the signing of the agreement between the EU and Ukraine,” Yatseniuk said.

“Our European partners and we, as the Ukrainian opposition, are in favor of the so-called comprehensive approach in adopting the relevant legislation. It cannot be so that two of the 11 points were fulfilled and nine were not fulfilled, and we say, well, you know, we lacked just a little time. We have time, so everything must be fulfilled,” he said.

Yatseniuk said that the issue concerns three basic requirements: the end of political persecution, the reform of the electoral law and the reform of the justice system.

“We expect a responsible political decision from Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych,” he said, adding that the opposition expects the release of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

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Opposition leader Arseniy Yatseniuk