October 11, 2011
PRESS RELEASE
UKRAINIAN WORLD CONGRESS PRESIDENT MEETS WITH
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT OFFICIALS IN STRASBOURG
On September 27, 2011, Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) President Eugene Czolij held a series of meetings at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. The meetings focused primarily on two main issues – Ukraine’s integration into the European Union and human rights abuses in Russia and Ukraine.
Separate meetings were held with high officials of the European Parliament, namely Barbara Lochbihler, Member of Parliament and newly appointed Chair of the Subcommittee on Human Rights, Members of Parliament Jan Kozlowski and Tunne Kelam, Diplomatic Adviser to the EP President Arnoldas Pranckevicius, Committee on Foreign Affairs Administrator Myriam Goinard and Directorate-General for External Policies – Human Rights Unit Administrator Emma Achilli.
During these meetings, the UWC President stressed the importance for both Europe and Ukraine of concluding the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement before the end of the year.
Eugene Czolij also briefed officials on the current unenviable human rights records of Russia and Ukraine. He singled out the Russian authorities’ efforts to liquidate two Ukrainian NGOs, the Federal National Cultural Autonomy of Ukrainians of Russia and the Union of Ukrainians in Russia. As for Ukraine, persecution of the political opposition continues, particularly the unwarranted arrest and detention of the key opposition figures Yulia Tymoshenko and Yurii Lutsenko.
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