The European Parliament,

 

- having regard to its resolution of 12 December 2013 on “the outcome of the Vilnius Summit and the future of the Eastern Partnership, in particular as regards Ukraine,

 

- having regard to its resolution of 23 October 2013 on “the European Neighbourhood Policy: towards a strengthening of the partnership. Position of the European Parliament on the 2012 reports,

 

- having regard to its resolution of 12 September 2013 on the pressure exerted by Russia on Eastern Partnership countries (in the context of the upcoming Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius),

 

- having regard to the Joint Declaration of the Vilnius Eastern Partnership Summit of 29 November 2013,

 

- having regard to the Council conclusions on Ukraine of 20 January 2014,

 

- having regard to the resignation of Prime Minister Azarov and his government which took place on 28 January 2014,

 

- having regard to the Joint Statement of the Prime Ministers of the Visegrad Group Countries on Ukraine of 29 January 2014,

 

- having regard to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) between the European Union and Ukraine, which entered into force on 1 March 1998, and to the new Association Agreement initialled on 30 March 2012,

 

- having regard to the EU-Russia Summit of 28 January 2014,

 

- having regard to Rule 110 (2) and (4) of its Rules of Procedure,

 

A. whereas the demonstrations that started more than two months ago as a consequence of President Yanukovych’s decision not to sign the Association Agreement with the EU continue to the present day in the capital and the discontent is spreading to other cities, including in eastern regions of Ukraine, the popular uprising in Ukraine has reached a majority of the regions, with their administrations of those regions being   under the control of the people,

 

B whereas over the last weeks the situation has further deteriorated with an increasing pace with people taking to the streets to defend democracy and civil liberties after brutal crackdowns by Berkut riot police on demonstrators, human rights activists and journalists,

 

• Whereas despite international pressure, Ukrainian authorities continue to pursue a policy of intimidation, repression, torture and violence against protesters resulting in more than 2000 people injured, many abducted and at least six people killed,

 

• Whereas the adoption on 16 January 2014 of a series of anti-protest laws by the government majority, severely limiting the freedoms of expression and assembly, provoked international outrage and sparked violent clashes in Kiev resulting in loss of human lives;

 

• Whereas any forceful crackdown or declaration of  state of emergency, will be considered as a criminal act and a violation of fundamental rights with profound international consequences,

 

1. Whereas the EP ad’hoc delegation which was in Kyiv on 28-30 January, met with the authorities, Euromaidan, political opposition and church leaders and received a thorough and in-depth analysis of the situation in Ukraine, 

 

1. Welcomes the democratic spirit and resilience of the Ukrainian people after two months of courageous protests which met brutal response by the authorities and expresses its full solidarity and support for their effort towards a free, democratic, independent Ukraine and its European perspective;

 

2. Expresses deep concern over the serious political crisis in Ukraine and the violent confrontations in Kiev and other cities of Ukraine; strongly calls for a political solution of the crisis and insists on a truly democratic debate on the ways and means to overcome the confrontation and divisions in the country;

 

3. Strongly condemns the escalation of violence against peaceful citizens, journalists, students, civil society activists, opposition politicians and clergy, and expresses its sincere condolences to the families of the victims of the violence in Ukraine; calls on the Ukrainian authorities to fully respect the people’s civil rights and fundamental freedoms and to take immediate steps to end the state of impunity, investigating and punishing the authors of violence against peaceful protestors;

 

4. Calls on the Maidan protestors to refrain from the use of force to maintain the legitimacy of their cause in a peaceful way, and asks all the opposition leaders to continue to refrain from unprovoked violence and keep the protest peaceful,

 

5. Is concerned by the excessive use of violence by the security forces, the Tituskhi and the violent actions of ultrnationalists,

 

6. Demands in particular that President Yanukovych cease the shameful deployment of Berkut riot police and other security forces of provocations, kidnaping, harassment, torturing, beating and humiliating supporters of EuroMaidans, as well as arbitrary arrests and over-extended pre-trail detentions; is particularly concerned about reports of torture and stresses Ukraine’s international commitments in this respect, points out the most recent case of Dmytro Bulatov, the leader of “AutoMaidan”, who was kidnapped and tortured; 

 

7. Calls on President Yanukovych to order to stop these practices and demands the immediate and unconditional release and the political rehabilitation of all the demonstrators and political prisoners illegally detained including Yulya Tymoshenko; calls for the setting up of an independent investigative committee under the auspicious of a recognised international body, such as the Cuncil of Europe, in order to investigate all the human rights violations that took place since  the beginning of the demonstrations;

 

8. Recalls the EU's readiness to sign AA/DCFTA with Ukraine as soon as the political crisis is overcome and relevant requirements are met as defined by the Foreign Affairs Council of 10 December 2012 and supported by Parliament’s resolution of 13 December 2012;

 

9.Welcomes the Verkhovna Rada's decision to repeal the anti-protest laws and the signature by President Yanukovych, as a positive step towards the political resolution of the crisis; regrets, however, that the amnesty law turning victims into hostages was approved on 29 January without the consent of the opposition; takes the view that an unconditional release of protesters would greatly facilitate the talks and appease the society;

 

10.Urges the President and the government to seriously engage in an inclusive dialogue with the opposition, civil society and the Maiden protesters to de-escalate the tense and polarised situation and to find ways to overcome the current political and societal crisis in Ukraine through peaceful means;

 

11. Reminds President Yanukovych of his responsibility in-front of the Ukrainian people and the international community to refrain from using repressive methods and to remedy the current political crisis and to respect the right of peaceful protest;

 

12. Calls for the continued engagement of the EU side to mediate and facilitate a process leading to a de-escalation, a more constructive political dialogue in the country and a solution to the crisis as well as bridging the gap of total lack of trust; underlines that such a dialogue must be transparent and with the full participation of EuroMaidan and civil society;

 

13. Takes the view following numerous requests by ordinary Ukrainian citizens, activists and politicians that the active involvement of Members of the European Parliament in Kyiv could prevent the further escalation of the crisis and calls, in this regard, for the establishment of a permanent ad’hoc mission of the European Parliament in Ukraine with a view to defusing tension and facilitating the dialogue between the parties and instructs the Conference of Presidents to implement this mission as soon as possible;     

 

14.Calls on the EU Institutions and Member States to take immediate actions, including increased diplomatic pressure and the preparation of personalised targeted measures and sanctions on travelling, asset and property freeze of all those Ukrainian officials, legislators and their business sponsors (oligarchs) who are responsible for crackdowns on and deaths of protestors and to step up efforts so as to stop money laundering and tax evasion of Ukrainian companies and businessmen in European banks;

 

15. Calls on the European Union, United States, IMF, World Bank, EBRD and EIB  to  continue to prepare a long-term package of concrete financial support to help Ukraine tackle its worsening financial and social situation and provide economic support to launch the necessary deep and comprehensive reforms of the Ukrainian economy by the government;

 

16. Welcomes and supports the ongoing work of the European Union and the United States to create a substantial short-term support package for Ukraine, which should be offered to a credible new interim government to alleviate the present tight situation in respect to payments;

 

17. Is of the opinion that one of the important solutions for resolving the crisis in Ukraine is the return to the Constitution of 2004, which was illegitimately abolished in 2010 by the Constitutional Court, bypassing the Ukrainian Parliament, the creation of an interim government and early elections;

 

18. Calls for the EU institutions and Member States to commit to a broad opening towards the Ukrainian society, in particular through a swift agreement on a cost-free visa regime and ultimately a visa-free regime, is of the opinion that the visa fee should be immediately drastically reduced for Ukrainian youth, strengthened research cooperation, expanded youth exchanges and increased availability of scholarships;  

 

 19. Considers that further efforts should be made to include Ukraine in the EU’s energy market via the Energy Community. Underlines the fact that it is for the Ukrainian people – and only for them – to decide, free from foreign interference, on the geopolitical orientation of the country and on which international agreements and communities Ukraine should join;

 

20.Calls on Russia to adopt a constructive attitude and stop retaliatory measures and undue pressure aimed at undermining the sovereign right of its neighbours to determine freely their future; urges the EU and its Member States to speak to Russia with one voice in support of the European aspirations of the EaP countries that freely choose to deepen their relations with the EU; applying political, economic and other coercion is in breach of the Helsinki Final Act and the 1994 Budapest Memorandum concerning Ukraine’s security; reminds that both EU and Russia bear responsibility to contribute actively towards peace and prosperity in the common neighbourhood benefits both the EU and Russia; reiterates its belief that cooperation to achieve this goal is the only way forward;

 

21. Supports the further involvement of civil society in national reform processes; encourages enhanced inter-parliamentary cooperation with the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly; encourages enhanced interparliamentary cooperation with the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly; welcomes the involvement of the Conference of local and regional authorities of the Eastern Partnership, welcomes the involvement of the Conference of Local and Regional Authorities of the Eastern Partnership;

 

22. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign and Security Policy, the Member States, the President of Ukraine, the Ukrainian government, the Verkhovna Rada, the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Assemblies of the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.