René van der Linden onderhandelt in Oekraïne over democratische hervormingen namens Raad van Europa (en)

Strasbourg, 04.07.2005 - A high-level delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) - made up of the Assembly's President René van der Linden i and the leaders of its five political groups - is to make a visit to Ukraine from 5 to 8 July 2005.

Explaining the purpose of the visit, Mr. van der Linden said: "The Orange Revolution inspired many, but now comes the hard work of making Ukraine a truly democratic country, where European standards fully apply. A day after his inauguration, President Yushchenko came to Strasbourg and asked for the Council of Europe's help. We have already responded, but the purpose of this visit is to find out what more we can do together. The success of democratic reforms in Ukraine is important for the whole region."

The delegation will meet President Viktor Yushchenko, Parliamentary Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk, as well as former presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych and representatives of other opposition political forces and NGOs. PACE President René van der Linden will address the Verkhovna Rada on Wednesday 6 July at 4 p.m. (see programme).

Talks are expected to cover the progress of democratic reforms in Ukraine, the 2006 parliamentary election, constitutional reforms and the need for a public service broadcasting system, among other issues.

The delegation is made up of:

René van der Linden (Netherlands), President of the Assembly

Lluís Maria de Puig (Spain, SOC)

Luc van den Brande (Belgium, EPP/DC)

Mátyás Eörsi (Hungary, ALDE)

Mikhail Margelov (Russia, EDG)

Mats Einarsson (Sweden, UEL)

A press conference will take place at the Verkhovna Rada at 10.30 a.m. on Friday 8 July.

Contacts:

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  Angus Macdonald (PACE Communication Unit), mobile +33 6 30 49 68 20
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  Oleksander Pavlichenko (Council of Europe Information Centre in Kyiv), tel. +380 44 23 43 778.