OSCE PA President George concludes visit to Ukraine

KIEV, 17 June 2003 - The President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA), Bruce George (MP, United Kingdom), paid an official visit to Ukraine from 15 to 17 June in conjunction with his participation in an OSCE Seminar on the Democratic Control of the Armed Forces and Implementation of the Code of Conduct. During the course of the visit, Mr. George met the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament as well as other members of Parliament from a wide spectrum of political parties, the Foreign Minister, the Ombudperson and the OSCE Project Co-ordinator.

In connection with his participation in the OSCE Seminar, Mr. George had, first of all, the opportunity to share his views as Chairman of the Defence Committee of the British House of Commons on the historical development of civil and democratic control of the armed forces in the OSCE area. In the course of his presentation, Mr. George noted that "there has been a natural tendency for countries in the OSCE space to move in recent years towards greater civilian and parliamentary control over armed forces. While it is clear that Ukraine has already embarked upon this lengthy and complicated process, the pace it sets for itself will largely determine the speed of its further integration into structures such as NATO and the European Union."

While reform in the defence sector needs to be one area of focus, Mr. George stressed in his meetings with Ukrainian officials that Ukraine's further European integration will also depend quite significantly on the pace of democratization and on the nature of future elections in the country. Mr. George recalled that as the Special Co-ordinator of the Chairman-in-Office to the 2002 Ukrainian parliamentary elections, "I reported that while some progress in the conduct of the elections was made, there were still considerable flaws in the process." Regarding the Presidential elections tentatively scheduled for next autumn, he added that "I would be most pleased to be able to return to Ukraine next year and report that those elections were conducted in a free and fair manner in line with OSCE standards." To ensure such an outcome, he urged the Ukrainian authorities to begin already to take measures to address the shortcomings in the electoral process so as to ultimately ensure public trust in the outcome of next year's Presidential elections.

In this connection, Mr. George discussed Ukraine's relationship with the OSCE, the Institutions of which could play a useful role in assisting with the ongoing democratization process. Noting the active participation of Ukrainian parliamentarians in the work of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Mr. George also encouraged the Ukrainian authorities to play an equally active role in the governmental dimension of the OSCE in order to ensure that the Organization meets Ukraine's aspirations and remains relevant to the needs of its participating countries. In this connection, he drew the attention of his interlocutors to the fact that OSCE parliamentarians would be gathering in Rotterdam in less than a month to discuss the future of the OSCE in light of the expansion of such organizations as NATO, the EU and the Council of Europe. As for the Office of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine, Mr. George pointed out that "during my visit one year ago, I expressed some anxiety over the impasse with regard to the future of the OSCE presence in Ukraine, but am most pleased to see on the occasion of this visit that the OSCE Project Co-ordinator's Office is now fully functioning." Mr. George encouraged a continued co-operation with this Office and with other OSCE Institutions in tackling the challenges inherent in the democratization process.

Overall, Mr. George welcomed the frank and open discussions he had with all his interlocutors and sought to highlight the fact that he "did not come as a lecturer, but rather as an equal partner seeking ways to assist Ukraine in its stated goal of further integration into European structures".