EUCommission President Juncker to EuroFora on East Ukraine Crisis : Best Investments are for Peace !

*Strasbourg/EU Parliament/Angelo Marcopolo/- Replying to an "EuroFora"s Question on Pope Francis' call for Peace-making, in and around Europe - i.e. particularly Ukraine- especially during his 2nd Speech Today in Strasbourg, when he addressed the PanEuropean CoE, (Comp. : http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/pacepresidentbrasseuronpopeukraineandpeace.html etc), New EU Commission's President, experienced long-time Prime Minister of Luxembourg and €uroGroup Chairman, positiverly stressed that Investments for Peace are the Best.

This was said at an exceptionaly Timely moment, just after Juncker presented to the Press his long-awaited EU Investments' Plan aiming to provide more than 300 Billions €, during 2015-2017, to interesting and adequately Selected Projects of Structural importance for Europe's present and Future, less than a Decade since his landmark Report on EU - CoE cooperation prospects, mandated by CoE's Heads of State/Governments' PanEuropean Summit in Varsaw, (4/2005), that  Juncker had unveiled in Strasbourg, back on 2008-9.

Meanwhile, even OECD's Secretary General, the experienced Angel Guria himself, speaking  to "EuroFora" earlier at the CoE in Strasbourg, has already confirmed the Fact that Europe's Growth prospects had been Negatively affected by the still on-going Ukranian Crisis, launching a Call to Urgently Lower the Tension there, until a Political Solution is found, (See : http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/oecdheadaskssolutionforukraine.html ).

- "Tragically, Peace continues all too often to be Violated. This is the case in so many parts of the World, where Conflicts of various sorts Continue to fester" -  But, still Today, "It is also the case here in Europe, where Tensions continue to exist. How great a toll of Suffering and Death is still being exacted on This Continent (Europe), which ....so easily Falls Back into the temptations of the Past ! That is why ....to seek a Political Solution to current Crises are so Significant", Pope Francis pointed out inter alia, obviously making a reference to the Eastern Ukraine Crisis), and calling for "Constant Vigilence".

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- "The Pope spoke very much about Peace, particularly in his speech at the COE, that you know well, while the Ukraine Crisis still persists, and has already affected EU's Growth, as OECD confirmed too. Don't you think that, for your (2015-2017) EU Investments' Plan to succeed, something should be also done also for Peace in Ukraine ?", "EuroFora" asked the New EU Commission's President, in the way out of his collective Press Conference.

 After carefuly asking "EuroFora" to clearly repeat the Question in full, Jean-Claude Juncker immediately replied Positively :

- As a matter of general Principle, "the Best Investments that we (EU) can make, are the Investments which are made for Peace !", the New EU Commission's President told us, looking convinced on the importance of the issue...

This was the only Statement made by Juncker Today in Strasbourg on other matters than those strictly concerning the Financial and Economic aspects of his long-awaited EU Investments' Plan, since he had just droped another collegue's Question about Pope Francis' yesterday Call to meet the need also for "Spiritual Investments in Europe", (Comp.: ....), by replying that he didn't think that EU Commission should determine "Moral Issues", preferring that to be done much more "by the Civil Society", i.e. Religious Leaders, Intellectuals, Philosophers, the Media, etc, with the only Exception, may be, of that of "Workers' Dignity", as Francis had said, which concerns "Working Conditions", that EU might soon address, as he promised.

The more than 315 Billions € estimated EU Commission's package for Investments during the forthcoming 2015-2017 period has the Threefold aim to create a New "European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), to establish "a credible Project Pipeline" selection, and an Assistance Program "to Channel Investments where they are most Needed", as well as a "Roadmap to make Europe more Attractive for Investments", (f.ex. by removing Regulatory Bottlenecks, etc).

The forthcoming, December 18-19 EU Summit of Heads of State/Governments in Brussels is due to focus on Juncker's Investments Plan for Growth and Jobs, as well as on Foreign Policy issues, according to Developments at the International stage.

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Already Nowadays, converging sources speak f.ex. about an imminent EU Commission's deal with Ukraine for Regional Reforms and De-Centralisation, with several Tens of Millions € to invest in an area which is, notoriously, also Crucial for the prospects of a Peace Agreement to solve the Eastern Ukraine Crisis, at the Donetshk and Luhansk Autonomist Regions. I.e., precisely there where CoE's High-level Legal Experts have recently checked on October 2014 a key-Reforms' Draft submitted by President Poroshenko, in accordance with his June 2014 "Peaceful Plan" unveiled in Strasbourg, (Comp. f.ex., among others, also  ...), which became also integral part of the September 2014 Minsk Agreement on a lasting Cease-Fire and Peace-process deal between representatives of Kiev's Government and Donetsk/Luhansk's Autonomist Regions, under the auspices of the Swiss Presidency of the OSCE, focusing on "Power DeCentralisation".

Meanwhile, a Draft Report of CoE's Parliamentary Assembly on the Humanitarian situation in Ukraine, denounces the fact that, in the Autonomist Regions of Lugansk/Luhansk, "Weeks of fighting" during the Attacks of Kiev's Military, "have left the area Damaged, with Demolished Houses and Infrastructure".

- In particular, there is still "No Electricity and Water; the latter being supplied by Trucks Irregularly. The Population (of some 4 Millions People before the Clashes) is very much Dependent on Humanitarian Aid". Moreover,"Health remains a primary Concern, as there is a Lack of essential Medicines, and many Hospitals and clinics are Closed because of the Damage" provoked during Kiev's Military attacks..

+ Moreover, ". On 5 November 2014, Ukraine’s Prime Minister (Yantsenuk) announced that the government would Freeze payments, mostly for public sector Wages and .... to parts of eastern Ukraine under separatists’ control. This move ... is likely to Worsen the already Dire conditions in which the Population is living",PACE's Draft Resoluition notes, while Luhansk Region's leadership has Denounced an Attempt from Kiev to "commit a Genocide" agains the Russian-speaking Autonomist regiions' Population.

- But, COE Assembly's Rapporteur, Jim Sheridan from the UK, after a 3-Day fact-finding visit to Kyiv and Kharkiv, stressed that the Ukranian "Government should Continue to fulfil its essential Responsibilities towards those still living in the rebel-held territories, who remain Ukrainian Citizens entitled to full enjoyment of their Rights. This will require increased assistance from the international community, all the more important as the first Snows of winter began to fall during my visit”, Sheridan added.

=> A Draft Resolution of CoE Assembly's Social affairs Committee for Social affairs, Migration and Refugees/IDPs, "Calls on the International Community to: ... provide Immediate and long-term Support for essential ReConstruction efforts, projects to Restore Water and Other essential Services", as well as it "invites the CoE's  Development Bank ...to Assist.... the ReConstruction process in the Devastated Areas".  

However, obviously, the Best for Europe would have been a Huge Infrastructural High-Tech Project interlinking EU and Russia via Ukraine's Strategic "Bridge", in Peaceful times... Will it become anew possible soon ?