Written Answers. - EU Enlargement.
Gay Mitchell
Ceist:
94
Mr. G. Mitchell
asked the
Minister for Foreign Affairs
the countries of the CIS which might aspire to EU membership; if he will give an overview of the state of human rights and the role of democracy in each; the additional information, if any, he has which will assist in giving a fair and comprehensive overview of the political situation in each; and his views on the workings, status and cohesion of the confederation itself.
[23109/99]
Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Andrews): No CIS country has formally applied for membership of the European Union, although a number of these countries, even countries outside of Europe, may aspire to membership at some unspecified time in the future. The only country of the CIS which has been pressing for EU recognition of its eventual candidature for membership of the Union is Ukraine.
While there has been progress in the general human rights area in Ukraine, there are still a number of areas where further progress is needed. For instance, Ukraine is concerned with the Council of Europe threat to expel the Ukrainian delegation because of its failure to honour its commitment, given on accession to the Council of Europe in November 1995, to abolish the death penalty. No group in Parliament is prepared to propose a Bill for its abolition at present.
A Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly fact-finding visit to Ukraine in October found that coverage of the presidential electoral campaign by the state media appeared to be strongly biased in favour of the outgoing President. The visit was the Parliamentary Assembly's response to an appeal lodged by four presidential candidates alleging serious breaches of the campaign rules and other irregularities, in particular concerning freedom of the press and candidates' equal access to the public media. The assembly underlined that a free and fair electoral campaign is an essential precondition for democratic elections.
Following the adoption of a new constitution in June 1996 executive power is primarily vested in the Prime Minister and the Government, although the President retains some executive functions. The 450 member Verkhovna Rada, Parliament, has legislative power. The President is elected by universal suffrage for a period of five years. Parliamentary elections were held in the Ukraine on 29 March 1998. The leftist bloc, which holds 171 seats, is the largest grouping. The first round of presidential voting took place on 31 October. Incumbent President Kuchma received 36.39 per cent of the vote. In the second round on 14 November, President Kuchma will face communist leader Simonenko who won 22.4 per cent of the vote in the first round. This election will be very important in deciding the future direction of Ukraine, which at present is pressing very strongly to be included in all European organisations, including for a perspective for eventual EU membership. It is my hope that future developments will underline Ukraine's commitment to ensuring that the system of common European democratic values and standards is enshrined in its domestic law and practice.
The Commonwealth of Independent States was established in December 1991, initially by Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, on the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Other former Soviet republics joined later, and all of these states, except the Baltic states, are now members. The primary purpose of the CIS is to promote econ omic, cultural and political co-operation between the member states. Its principal bodies, the Council of Heads of State and the Council of Heads of Government are supposed to meet at least twice yearly. Other ministerial councils, for instance, of Foreign and Defence Ministers, have also been established. It is reported that some member states, notably Azerbaijan, Georgia and Ukraine, participate only reluctantly in the CIS, partly because it is seen by some member states as a means of maintaining Russian influence in the former Soviet republics.
