By Alastair Macdonald and Pavel Polityuk
The European Union is putting its credibility and
reputation at risk by letting internal political wrangling stall a promised
easing of visa requirements for Ukraine and Georgia, the head of the European
Council said.
In a letter sent to European Parliament President
Martin Schulz on Tuesday and seen by Reuters, Donald Tusk urged the legislature
to compromise with national governments to unblock visa liberalisation. Both
former Soviet states feel aggrieved that Brussels in not making good on its
promises.
"At stake here are the legitimate hopes and
aspirations of the nations who are our neighbours, as well as the reputation of
the European Union, which has categorically and repeatedly committed itself to
the issue," the former Polish premier wrote.
"Even though all the parties in this debate have
their own good arguments and undoubtedly good will, it seems we are getting
close to squandering our joint efforts," he added, saying failure to
deliver would be "an unforgivable mistake".
Comments by senior Ukraine officials in interviews
with Reuters criticising the delay in loosening visa restrictions were
unusually outspoken and cut through public displays of bonhomie shown at a
Ukraine-EU summit in Brussels in November.
"While of course the Ukrainian president and his
delegation tried to keep optimism publicly, I understand very well if they
return to Kiev somewhat disappointed," Anders Fogh Rasmussen, an adviser
to Ukraine's president, said.
"I would even use a stronger word. I think it's a
kind of betrayal from the EU side, taking into account that Ukraine has
carefully fulfilled all necessary criteria for visa liberalisation," the
former NATO chief said.
Allowing 45 million Ukrainians and 5 million Georgians
to travel into Europe's Schengen zone without applying in advance for visas was
a potent incentive for people there to accept hard reforms from the governments
in Kiev and Tbilisi as they sought to come closer to the EU and distance
themselves from Russia.
But the migration crisis, when over a million people
from Syria and elsewhere arrived in Europe last year, alarmed EU governments
under pressure from anti-immigrant parties, notably in Germany and France which
both face elections next year.
National governments and the European Parliament are
now at odds over a mechanism to suspend visa waivers in emergencies and further
negotiations were due later on Wednesday.
(Additional reporting by Margaryta Chornokondratenko
in KIEV and Gabriela Baczynska in BRUSSELS, editing by Ralph Boulton)
No comments:
Post a Comment