CoE Chair Ukranian President Yanukovych: Focus= Debate issues, Fast EU Integration, Fight Corruption

Victor Yanukovych, President of Ukraine and CoE's Chairman for the period of May - November 2011, intends to valorize CoE as a "Focal Point"  to debate all issues related with European Integration, as he said from the outset to Journalists, including "EuroFora", stressing also Kiev's wish to "accelerate" Ukraine's EU aspitations.


But the New CoE Chairman, as well as his Foreign Minister Kostantyn Gruschenko, both focused also, in reply to MEP's Questions on the massive Fight against Corruption, currently engagd in Ukraine, in  a vital attempt to clear its Future from a Counter-productive, Negative Past, in a way and at a moment that it could give a Timely example which could usefully inspire also current efforts to free the majority of Greek People and all €urozone from an artificially growing Debt, initially provoked by Nepotism, Corruption and shady Political Deals mainly of the 1980-2001 Past period,, (including Athens' precocious entry into €urozone, earlier than normal, i.e. without doing previously necessary Reforms, in exchange of Turkey's controversial and unpopular EU bid, notoriously pushed by some former "Socialist" Governments : See previous "EuroFora"s NewsReports).          

 
    - "CoE is the Institution which serves as the Focal Point, where many Challenges faced by Europe meet together", significantly stressed from the outset President Yanukovych, speaking after a meeting with CoE's Secretary General, Thornbjorn Jagland, to Journalists in Strasbourg, including "EuroFora".

-  Ukraine's aim being to accelerate its EU Integration, we are ready to debate on all relevant issues, including Rule of Law and Human Rights, he replied later to a question by the Chairman of the biggest Political Group in CoE's Parliamentary Assembly, that of ChristianDemocrats/EPP, Luca Volonté from Italy.


- Meanwhile, Yanukovych got a "strong Support for Reforms and the Fight agaibst Corruption" also by CoE's Secretary Genera, Thornbjorn Jagland, from >>Norway, who reminded that Anti-Corruption Measures are included in CoE's  core Tasks, (particularly as part of its Democracy and Rule of Law activities).

-  As well informed sources from Ukranian President Yanukovych's entourage told "EuroFora", various Negative Consequences inherited from a Corrupted Past, are still one of the big Challenges that the new Government is decided to try to eradicate, using, for that purpose, a large panoply of various concrete measures, both for reasons of Justice and Healthy Democracy, but also in order to revigorate and boost a Healthier Economy :


- Thus, "a number of Laws .. specifically on .. Corruption", were adiopted recently in Ukraine, because "it was Necessary to Break through the Previous Years of Stagnation, which had proved to be a Challenge to progress", stressed Yanukovych.


- "Committed to routing out Corruption", despite "Opposition by individuals who had become Rich as a result of Embezzling Public Funds", Yanukovych denounced that "Corruption remained a significant Problem in Ukraine, but one which he had the Political Will  to resolve.


+ Added to a "Massive ¨Programme to Fight Corruption", the "DeRegulation of the Economy was also a part of this", (f.ex. by reducing 90% of State"s involvement into granting Permits, etc), while "all Publioc Functions would be Streamlined, and there would be a -30% Reduction of Civil Servants working in the Ministies", as he promised, observing that even the CoE itself "h    ad Cut out its Secretariat's Numbers by -60%"...


- Naturally, "there was a huge Resentment from Civil Servants and Bureaucracy, who were putting Pressure on the State to keep the Status Quo", because "it was a Painful process to Abolish the Previous Systems, but .. there was Now a System in place to Fight Corruption", he observed.     


+ Speaking earlier to the CoE, Foreign Minister Kostantyn Gruschenko, also accused "those who Governed before, to be Responsible" for what happened afterwards, and revealed that there are, currently, "more than 400 Cases" opened for Investigations: "It has to be Far-Reaching, and Nobody is Immune", he warned, stressing the need for "Resolute Action".


>>> All this inevitaby reminds, at tjhe present context, the "revolted" Greek People's Massive Demonstrations, these Days, inspired by the initial Tunisian "Jasmin Revolution", one of the demands of wom is that "those who usurpated Pubic Privileges must Pay" the Debt that they have provoked, (exposing the whole Country and even all €urozone to Speculative  Attacks afterwards, asking also to resolutey check for Corruption all suspected Public Post holders,, "without hiding behind any kind of Bureaucratic Time  Prescriptions", (a Populaer demand both in Greece and in Spain, etc).


=> Such kind of Popular demands, in the case of Greece, meet also the political Oppositiuons' older and recent proposals f.ex. to Investigate from the start in order to find out who really provoked that huge Debt, and to check all Public Officials' personal Properties for undue Enrichment cases, etc., both exte nded throughout all the crucial Time period of 1980-2010.


If adequately used, such Measures could certainly help to reveal Crucial Truths, as well as to radically Diminish the Debt due by Country, which, otherwise, risks to remain hostage of what really happened during the crucial 1986-2002 period, unless it's undone.soon enough.


The New Fact that Ukraine is, today, also Chairing the PanEuropean CoE, one of the main Taslks of which is to efficiently Tackle Corruption, might, eventually, offer interesting prospects for EU-CoE Cooperation also in the case of the "Greek" (in fact EU - Turrkey : See supra) Financiero-Political affair..

Indeed, seen in this way, CoE might really become a "Focal Point" for most European Challenges, as President Yanukovich just highlighted in Strasbourg (See supra)...