Communist Party of Ukraine Initiates a Parliamentary Investigation into Financial Irregularities Under the "Eastern Partnership" Programme

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Apr 26, 2013, 06:50 ET

KIEV, Ukraine, April 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

On April 25^th, during a press conference at the press center of Ukrainian News Agency "Voice of UA", leaders of the communist parties of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus raised the question of foreign policy of Ukraine's priorities, and the attempts of some political forces in the country imposing their views on the Ukrainian people.

It has been well-known that since 2009 the European Union has spent 2.8 billion Euros for the implementation of the "Eastern Partnership" in Ukraine and Moldova. Of this sum, Ukraine has received over 2 billion Euros.

In his speech, the leader of the Communist Party of Ukraine Petro Symonenko said: "Given the available information, there is every reason to suppose that the amount was stolen under the cover of officials of the European Commission. There is a long-standing technology for spending these budgets - the money is being allocated to loyal funds "for development of democracy," and then it is being shared with the grant-baited local organizations. In connection to this, the CPU has initiated a parliamentary investigation into financial irregularities under the "Eastern Partnership" programme in Ukraine. Our colleagues from Moldova and the European Parliament can support us in this initiative.

"We appeal to the leadership of the European Commission with the imperative to stop the allocation of funds to programmes aimed at forceful Ukraine's European integration. Until the public hear from the EU officials a detailed report on the expenditure of allocated funds under this programme, we will consider all future grants and subsidies for the continuation of the European integration as a continuation of corrupting Ukrainian and Moldovan officials, who unaccountably spend them in their own way."

Symonenko also maintained that "the main political motive that lay in the heart of European efforts to draw Ukraine into its sphere of influence through the signing of the free trade zone Agreement is to prevent the creation of a powerful trade and economic integration in the East - the Customs Union and the Eurasian Union, an integral part of which must be Ukraine." According to the latest estimates of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of Russian Academy of Sciences, the annual loss of revenue of Ukraine, which remains outside the framework of the Customs Union, is 10-15 billion dollars - nearly a third of its annual budget.

Obviously, the prospect of Ukraine's membership in the EU is a myth. This is particularly noticeable on the background of the financial crisis that is gaining momentum in Europe. The European Commission's new initiative to spread the practice of weaning the Cyprus deposits to the whole of the EU is nothing but a sign of a stalemate or a critical situation in the European economy with serious domestic problem. Greece later this year could leave the Euro zone.

For the EU an attempt to impose an Agreement on association and free trade with Ukraine will become a kind of an injection for the half-dead European economy. Its result will be deterioration in the trade balance of Ukraine, the growth of imports from the EU with a relative decline in exports from Ukraine, a reduction in production output and a fall in the level of GDP. This is an obvious disadvantage for all sectors of the Ukrainian industry. The agreement on free trade zone with the EU has a number of restrictions on export of goods, including agricultural products.

These facts are unlikely to contribute to Ukraine's rapprochement with the European Union, particularly in the run-up to the coming Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius, which is planned for November. The venue of the summit has not been selected randomly - Lithuania, as well as all Baltic states, are a typical example of the negative effects of the European integration. The mass exodus of the working population to the countries of old Europe, stifling local manufacturers, huge unemployment, the elimination of their own industry and the destruction of agriculture in favor of Bavarian farmers - this is a classic picture of the economic situation for the EU pioneers. "Brussels needs new countries just as a territorial factor and a donor of cheap unskilled labor force - such as nannies, maids, cleaners, taxi drivers, security guards and prostitutes in the UK, Germany, France, Belgium, etc. We stand strongly against such a format of international integration of Ukraine - in the interests of Ukrainian oligarchs and European officials. Ukrainians should determine themselves their own destiny and be guided, first and foremost, by the interests of the Ukrainian manufacturers, and their main buyer is in the East - in the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan."