MEP suggests that Ukraine include opposition members in executive bodies

Ukraine needs to include representatives of the opposition in the executive branch of its government, said Viola von Cramon, a member of the European Parliament and Deputy Head of the European Parliament's delegation to the EU-Ukraine Parliamentary Association Committee.

Source: von Cramon in an exclusive interview with the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Von Cramon explained that holding presidential elections in Ukraine is impossible due to the war waged by the Russian Federation, so she expressed support for the involvement of opposition representatives in the Ukrainian executive branch.

"Yes, this is what I think is necessary. I think we should have made it a precondition at the very beginning... You saw how [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu formed a war cabinet from the outset, 24 hours after the [Hamas] attack [on Israel]. He made sure that everyone was involved and that everyone was speaking in one voice. One would expect the same from Ukraine," she said.

At the same time, the MEP did not rule out that this condition could be put forward when granting further financial support from the West.

"I would say that the US, the EU, Germany and other donors can demand this. I think we need to make sure that all participants in the political arena receive equal attention, equal access and equal financial overview. This way, they will know how much money comes and goes and why certain decisions are made. I am in favour of involving the opposition more in the decision-making process at the executive level," she argued.

Von Cramon also commented on cases when members of the Ukrainian parliament were denied permission to travel outside the country.

"Yes, we are very aware of this, and we are fighting for the rights of my colleagues. This is not okay. But it's not just the opposition. Interestingly, after one of the votes, people who did not vote for a certain law faced the same treatment. So it's not just the opposition.

In fact, this is used as a political tool against those lawmakers who did not follow the presidential line, and this is a problem," von Cramon said.

Background:

• In early March, a group of MPs, primarily from the opposition European Solidarity faction, registered a draft resolution proposing to oblige Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk to lift restrictions on foreign travels for Ukrainian MPs.
• Draft resolution 11058, registered in the parliament on 4 March, cites the European Parliament's resolution "on the abolition of restrictions on foreign travel for members of the Ukrainian parliament".

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