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A Ukrainian PACE deputy expects Kyiv to start negotiations with the EU by the end of June

by AI | 12.Jun 2024 | Europe in brief AI

Oleksiy Honcharenko described the elections in Bulgaria as free and transparent

Oleksii Goncharenko Photo: Milena Stoykova/BTA

SOFIA – I hope that by the end of June, the negotiations for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union will officially start, said Oleksiy Honcharenko, the head of the delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), who was in Bulgaria to observe the elections for the National Assembly and the European Parliament. Honcharenko is a member of the Ukrainian parliament, and he is the president of the Committee on Migration, Refugees, and Displaced Persons at PACE.

Bulgaria has always supported us so far; I hope this continues. We have problems with Hungary and its position, but I hope that the negotiations for Ukraine’s accession to the EU will start by the end of June, said Honcharenko.

In his words, the West and Europe have tried to build security on the continent by placing Ukraine as a buffer between NATO-EU and Russia, but unsuccessfully. All of Ukraine will either be a member of the EU and NATO, and thus we will have security on the eastern border, or we will have constant problems and threats – this must be absolutely clear, he added.

Honcharenko added that at the beginning of the Russian aggression, Ukraine was concerned about Bulgaria’s support, knowing that “Russian influence has been very strong in the country for decades.” We were very worried at the beginning about what Bulgaria’s position would be in this aggressive war of Russia against Ukraine, but I have to tell you that Bulgaria supports us both on a political level and as a member of the EU and NATO in all possible ways, and we are very grateful for that, he pointed out.

In the position of the PACE delegation regarding the vote on Sunday for deputies in the National Assembly and the European Parliament, it is noted that the elections in Bulgaria were free and competitive, offering voters a pluralistic set of choices.

Honcharenko noted the low voter turnout and voter fatigue from several consecutive elections as a major problem. According to him, this is a signal of public distrust towards political representatives.

He said he had seen a significant difference in the results between the machine vote and the paper ballot vote. They are like two different elections, as if two different societies voted, it’s startling, commented Oleksiy Honcharenko. (June 10-11)