The President must urgently hold a meeting with the democratic opposition, with the participation of the government and parliamentary leadership. Petro Poroshenko stated this in a video address, noting that Ukraine is at an extremely difficult moment in its history, which requires the formation of a coalition and a government of national unity. According to the fifth President, the key priorities must be security issues, social protection, and European integration.
“Ukraine now finds itself at an extraordinarily difficult moment in its history. Over the last few weeks, several crises have overlapped simultaneously. The first is a security crisis related to the deterioration of the global situation. The war in the Middle East has sharply changed the international agenda, diverting the world’s attention from our state. Along with attention, resources—weapons and finances—are flowing to that region. Negotiations regarding the peace format and security guarantees for Ukraine have effectively been put on pause. Instead, Russia receives a gift of fate: a surge in gas and oil prices, its main export products, as well as a temporary lifting of sanctions on the purchase of Russian oil. These are billions of dollars that translate directly into missiles, drones, and shells flying at Ukrainian cities and villages,” Poroshenko notes.
“The second crisis is the total standstill of European integration processes and reforms. The people long for Ukraine’s membership in the European Union. But the authorities do not understand that European integration is not magic or a political slogan. It is painstaking, complex, daily homework. Three months ago, Ukraine agreed on a clear ten-step plan with the European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Marta Kos. It could have been completed in about ten parliamentary days, had there been the political will of the authorities,” the party leader believes. He reminded that these steps include a complete reboot of the SBI (State Bureau of Investigation), the adoption of an anti-corruption strategy, expanding the powers of NABU and SAPO, ensuring judicial independence, and cleaning up the High Council of Justice.
“This is all about the rule of law, which sounds like science fiction to the authorities. More than a hundred days have passed. Not a single point has been implemented. The situation is beginning to resemble an old joke: a man prays every day to win the lottery but hasn’t even bought a ticket. It would be funny if it weren’t so sad. I will be honest: I have never been as anxious for the fate of Ukraine’s European integration since November 2013 as I am now. In 2022, our Armed Forces won the right to begin negotiations with the European Union. Yet Ukrainian politicians still cannot ensure such vital progress,” Poroshenko states.
“Third. An internal parliamentary crisis. It is not invented. It is not political rhetoric. It is absolutely real. The coalition, required by the Constitution of Ukraine, exists neither de jure nor de facto. Tens of millions of Ukrainians have become hostages to a few dozen deputies involved in corruption tapes. MPs have staged an ‘Italian strike’ (work-to-rule), blocking the work of Parliament- simply because someone dislikes anti-corruption investigations and they demand the return and destruction of tapes where they are featured,” says Petro Poroshenko.
“Ignoring such challenges is not just a mistake. It is dangerous for the country. That is why the time has come to emphasize: the way out of the crisis is a coalition of national unity. Since parliamentary and presidential elections cannot be held during martial law, the only constitutional way out of the crisis is to form a new parliamentary majority. But I want to emphasize: this is not so much about the distribution of positions as it is about a program of action for the country, about professional and adult influence on decision-making,” Poroshenko explains.
According to him, the action program should consist of three blocks. The first is security: strengthening defense, modernizing the army, restoring quality funding, rebuilding the international coalition of support for Ukraine, and active diplomacy- including parliamentary diplomacy – to return the topic of security guarantees to the global agenda.
The second is social: protecting people inside the country, increasing pensions, preparing for the next winter, and supporting the army, veterans, military families, and those who keep the economy of a warring country running every day.
The third is European integration: “Instead of an auction of accession dates, we must finally carry out reforms. Those same ten steps agreed upon with the European Commission, which Parliament is capable of adopting in literally a few working days,” notes the party leader.
“The ‘European Solidarity’ faction is ready to vote for these decisions regardless of whether we are in the coalition or not. But the issue of creating a coalition of national unity is ripe – even overdue. We are ready for a serious and responsible conversation with the President of Ukraine. Such a meeting must take place immediately, with the participation of the leadership of Parliament and the government, and representatives of the democratic opposition. Unfortunately, the authorities did not hear us in late 2021 and early 2022 when we warned of the danger of a great war,” Petro Poroshenko reminded.
“I would very much hope that this time our words are heard. Because in crises, those countries win where politicians can put the state above their own ratings,” the fifth President emphasized.