BY
29th February sees the start of “Ukraine Week” within the European Parliament,
Brussels.
A total of 40
Ukrainians – MPs, political party leaders, Verkhovna Rada committee leaders and
assorted others, together with the EP counterparts (and a few stray EU Member
State politicians) will be grazing upon EU canapes for 3 days whilst attempting
to keep Ukraine high upon the European agenda, dispel any creeping “Ukraine
fatigue”, and also try and find/refine solutions to the dysfunctionality that
envelopes the generally feckless Ukrainian political class and how it actually
functions within the Verkhovna Rada building.
The 40 strong
Ukrainian delegation is appropriately headed by Verkhovna Rada Speaker,
Volodymyr Groisman.
Of the
numerous formal and informal issues big and small that will be discussed over
the 3 days, both centrally and “on the fringes”, the main agenda item is the
unveiling/public announcement of a plan to reform the internal workings of the
Verkhovna Rada itself, by Speaker Groisman to the European parliamentarians.
As Mr Groisman
has (rightly) stated – “The reforms should start with us, the parliament, and with the
cabinet of ministers in order to change Ukraine and take on challenges.” There
would be no argument with that statement from anybody even remotely familiar
with the overly onerous formal internal procedures and protocols of the
Verkhovna Rada.
An overhaul of
current internal bureaucratic machinery within the Vewrkhovna Rada is
absolutely necessary to move from a post-Soviet administrative hangover to a
more functional, modern legislative chamber.
With the EU
having had a delegation in Ukraine for some time assessing just how onerous and
misused the current protocols and procedures are within the
Verkhovna Rada, and having drawn and documented its conclusions and
recommendations, just what could Mr Groisman unveil that is likely to garner
the support of European parliamentarians, other than simply announcing the
delegation’s recommendations are indeed the plan (wrapped in a Ukrainian
accent)?
Thus this
“headline” agenda issue will be little more than scripted theatre.
That is not to
infer that the actual EP visit by the Ukrainian delegation is a waste of time
(and canapes) all being pure stage management during an otherwise dull domestic
political moment as new coalition talks begin and a virtual purdah descends as
negotiations are on-going.
Far from it.
It would be
incredibly foolish for Ukraine not to take any opportunity to raise its profile
anywhere – and the EP is certainly up there on the list of necessary and
preferred venues. Away from the stage-managed theatre, the meetings
behind the curtain, the “fringe” meetings, the tête-à-tête from which personal
contacts and relationships grow are all quite necessary.
Undoubtedly
certain Ukrainian delegates will be attempting to persuade EP counterparts that
certain personalities are not as important as they may appear and their
possible removal/departure does not constitute a major departure from any path
Ukraine has undertaken. The EP members will seek such assurances should
that eventually transpire. They will also be trying to ascertain whether
the (almost inevitable) early Verkhovna Rada elections will occur and grasp the
probable outcomes. That PM Yatseniuk will stumble onward until the summer
break is all but assured. Thereafter, unless a reliable coalition is
formed that garners consistent parliamentary support for government policy, PM
Yatseniuk will be very lucky to be PM by Christmas.
Thus the
stage-managed moments will actually be far less interesting than everything
else that occurs for all concerned – including the on-lookers – and there
is a difference between things that are “interesting” and things that are “of
interest”. For example, the public statement by Bundestag
Deputy Carl-Georg Welman that Germany is working on a “Marshall Plan” for
Ukraine is “interesting”. What is “of interest” is what the “Marshall
Plan” actually consists of, how it will be implemented, and by whom.
Firstly, will any conditionality for its realisation be met, and secondly
will any conditionality for its implementation be accepted?
As such the
news that comes forth from Brussels for the next few days will mostly be
“interesting” – several weeks, perhaps a month or so from now, information from
the “fringe” meetings and the tête-à-têtes will begin to leak and will
likely be much more “of interest”.
Nevertheless,
it is hoped that Ukraine makes the maximum of its time physically present
within the European Parliament over the next 72 hours – both in the scripted
and impromptu scenes.
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