In the time remaining until the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, the European Union and Council of Europe will enhance their monitoring of the criminal cases against Yulia Tymoshenko and the Ukrainian government’s progress in meeting the criteria necessary for the signing of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, according to the Official web site of Yulia Tymoshenko.
"Europe will continue to monitor politically motivated justice. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has also authorized the rapporteur on the separation of political and criminal responsibility, Pieter Omtzigt, to, over the course of the year, to monitor development in those countries and cases mentioned in the report, meaning of course the cases involving Yulia Tymoshenko," said Serhiy Vlasenko.
The ex-premier’s defender recalled that in June PACE approved the report on "Keeping political and criminal responsibility separate" in which Yulia Tymoshenko is recognized as a political prisoner.
"Given that the summit is scheduled for November, we expect Pieter Omtzigt to make a visit to monitor what the Ukrainian authorities have done in the Tymoshenko cases to mitigate the negative consequences politically motivated persecution of opposition leaders has had for Ukraine," he said.
Serhiy Vlasenko added that after his trip to Ukraine, PACE rapporteur Pieter Omtzigt will prepare a progress report on Ukraine’s fulfillment of the EU criteria ahead of the European Partnership Summit.
The ex-premier’s defenders underscored that the PACE report analyzes both the gas case against Yulia Tymoshenko and the cases about her alleged involvement in the murder of MP Yevhen Shcherban and the activities of United Energy Systems of Ukraine.
