Paet: Ukraine difficult to reform due to ongoing crises
Ukraine would be difficult to reform with an ongoing armed conflict in the eastern part of the country, its economy weakened, and oligarchs holding a lot of power, member of the European Parliament for Estonia Urmas Paet said on Monday.
“The Ukrainian government faces two big challenges the resolution of which is critical for the future of the country: achieving peace in the eastern part of the country, and carrying out economic and political reforms,” Paet wrote in a press release.
“At the same time, it is very difficult for the government to reform the state while it has to deal simultaneously with the East Ukraine conflict and the weakened economy; furthermore, the influence of oligarchs and the impact of some unpopular reforms on popular opinion cannot be underestimated either.”
The situation in Ukraine remained complicated, but unfortunately the country tended to get caught up in complex international crises, which shouldn’t be allowed to happen, Paet added.
Paet will visit Ukraine from Monday to Wednesday this week as a member of a delegation of the European Parliament's Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) group. The main subjects of the visit are the situation in East Ukraine and Crimea, and visa freedom with the EU.
Meetings are scheduled in Kiev and the West Ukrainian city of Lviv. The parliamentarians will also visit a border checkpoint and examine Ukraine’s preparedness for visa-free travel.
Paet visited East Ukraine last year.
Editor: Editor: Dario Cavegn
Source: BNS