Strasbourg and Brussels 10 December 2004
The Assembly of European Regions (AER), very concerned by the political situation in Ukraine, welcomes the decision of the Ukrainian Parliament on 8th December to amend the Constitution.
“We will now pay great attention to the implementation of the reforms, and particularly of the adopted text reinforcing the power of the regions” said Riccardo Illy, President of the AER and President of the Region Friuli Venezia Giulia-I. “The AER fully supports this significant step taken by the Parliament, and we are ready to share our longstanding experience in the field of regionalism, not only with our Ukrainian members regions – Donets’k, L’viv and Odessa – but with all Ukrainian regions. The goal for Ukraine must be elected regional governments and parliaments, the clear definition and increase of regional competences as well as the identification of the necessary financial resources to implement these new competences”.
The AER expressed a first position on the situation in Ukraine on 26th November. The General Assembly of the AER adopted the following resolution on Ukraine: “We, the members of the Assembly of European Regions, representing 250 European Regions, express our deepest concern about the situation in Ukraine after the presidential elections. We are convinced of the necessity of finding a political solution which will respect common democratic standards.”
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