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12 January 2023, 15:04
The Chair of the Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the EU discussed
this point during a meeting with the Chancellor of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of Estonia Yonatan Vseviov.
Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze: ‘The only security guarantee for Ukraine in the future is NATO membership’
Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze thanked Estonia for its commitment to help
Ukraine. She noted that not only security in the region depends on the
outcome of Russia's war against Ukraine: ‘If Russia is allowed to obtain
even the smallest part of our territory as a result of this war, it means
that the world may be changed by brutal force. There are many countries
that are carefully watching developments in Ukraine. How will they behave
with their neighbours in the future? For us, this war is an existential
one’.
The Chair of the Committee noted that Estonia today is a leader in providing assistance to Ukraine: ‘We are grateful to the government of the country, as well as non-governmental organisations, for their assistance to Ukraine. We are all volunteers now. And I am glad that I recently had the opportunity to coordinate Estonian and Ukrainian organisations that conduct trainings on bleeding stop in Ukraine’.
Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze emphasised that it is very important to explain with the help of Estonia to all international partners that aid to Ukraine should be increased. ‘We hope that the result of the next meeting of our allies in the Ramstein format will be an opportunity to finally break this vicious circle and provide modern tanks to Ukraine. I also believe that Western fighter jets also may be provided to Ukraine. The problem is that we should have started training Ukrainian pilots long time ago. It is about the lives of our people, about the best Ukrainians who are now dying for their country’, she said. Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze insisted that only Russia's military defeat and its punishment would bring sustainable peace in the future. The Chair of the Committee is also convinced that the only security guarantee for Ukraine in the future is membership in NATO. ‘At the moment, it would be appropriate to prioritise together with our partners in the alliance what needs to be done. Even in conditions of war. Ukraine, after the end of the war, should be subject to the same accession procedure as Sweden and Finland. We have already made enormous progress in approximating military standards. However, a lot still needs to be done from the political, legal and security management side’, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze said.
Regarding Ukraine's European integration progress, the Chair of the Committee is convinced that Ukraine should use the time when the European Commission is chaired by Ursula von der Leyen, and the European Council by Charles Michel, because for both leaders, support for Ukraine has already become a personal story. At the same time, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze emphasised that the attention of European partners to Ukraine is greater than ever: ‘Ukraine is now being looked at under a magnifying glass as a candidate country for joining the EU. And this is not my position as a representative of the opposition. It is about maintaining the trust of our European partners. Much has already been done. But now there are more declarations than necessary. We need more painstaking work, sometimes boring, not so interesting for communication, but very necessary for achieving European integration goals’.
The Chair of the Committee mentioned the law on media, recently adopted by the parliament in line with one of the conditions of the European Commission. However, according to her, this law does not fully consider the EU Audiovisual Directive. Therefore, one should be more careful in statements and more clear in actions, the Chair of the Committee believes. The same applies to the law on the Constitutional Court. The Venice Commission has already commented it, in particular, regarding the procedure for selecting candidates for the judge positions in the Central Administrative Court, including the composition and decision-making rules of the Advisory Group of Experts.
Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze also believes that a preliminary assessment by European partners of the fulfilment of seven necessary requirements will help Ukraine to correct mistakes in order to complete the work by the fall. The final report of the European Commission on the fulfilment of the necessary conditions is scheduled for the fall of 2023.
Yonatan Vseviov assured that Estonia will support Ukraine as long as it takes. He emphasised that it is important to make the cost of this war extremely high for Russia. And not only financially, because of sanctions and economic pressure. According to him, Russia must be held accountable for all crimes committed in Ukraine. Including for the crime of aggression.
The Chair of the Committee noted that Estonia today is a leader in providing assistance to Ukraine: ‘We are grateful to the government of the country, as well as non-governmental organisations, for their assistance to Ukraine. We are all volunteers now. And I am glad that I recently had the opportunity to coordinate Estonian and Ukrainian organisations that conduct trainings on bleeding stop in Ukraine’.
Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze emphasised that it is very important to explain with the help of Estonia to all international partners that aid to Ukraine should be increased. ‘We hope that the result of the next meeting of our allies in the Ramstein format will be an opportunity to finally break this vicious circle and provide modern tanks to Ukraine. I also believe that Western fighter jets also may be provided to Ukraine. The problem is that we should have started training Ukrainian pilots long time ago. It is about the lives of our people, about the best Ukrainians who are now dying for their country’, she said. Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze insisted that only Russia's military defeat and its punishment would bring sustainable peace in the future. The Chair of the Committee is also convinced that the only security guarantee for Ukraine in the future is membership in NATO. ‘At the moment, it would be appropriate to prioritise together with our partners in the alliance what needs to be done. Even in conditions of war. Ukraine, after the end of the war, should be subject to the same accession procedure as Sweden and Finland. We have already made enormous progress in approximating military standards. However, a lot still needs to be done from the political, legal and security management side’, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze said.
Regarding Ukraine's European integration progress, the Chair of the Committee is convinced that Ukraine should use the time when the European Commission is chaired by Ursula von der Leyen, and the European Council by Charles Michel, because for both leaders, support for Ukraine has already become a personal story. At the same time, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze emphasised that the attention of European partners to Ukraine is greater than ever: ‘Ukraine is now being looked at under a magnifying glass as a candidate country for joining the EU. And this is not my position as a representative of the opposition. It is about maintaining the trust of our European partners. Much has already been done. But now there are more declarations than necessary. We need more painstaking work, sometimes boring, not so interesting for communication, but very necessary for achieving European integration goals’.
The Chair of the Committee mentioned the law on media, recently adopted by the parliament in line with one of the conditions of the European Commission. However, according to her, this law does not fully consider the EU Audiovisual Directive. Therefore, one should be more careful in statements and more clear in actions, the Chair of the Committee believes. The same applies to the law on the Constitutional Court. The Venice Commission has already commented it, in particular, regarding the procedure for selecting candidates for the judge positions in the Central Administrative Court, including the composition and decision-making rules of the Advisory Group of Experts.
Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze also believes that a preliminary assessment by European partners of the fulfilment of seven necessary requirements will help Ukraine to correct mistakes in order to complete the work by the fall. The final report of the European Commission on the fulfilment of the necessary conditions is scheduled for the fall of 2023.
Yonatan Vseviov assured that Estonia will support Ukraine as long as it takes. He emphasised that it is important to make the cost of this war extremely high for Russia. And not only financially, because of sanctions and economic pressure. According to him, Russia must be held accountable for all crimes committed in Ukraine. Including for the crime of aggression.