Issue 2,
9 June 2006

The next possible date the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) can meet to form the long-awaited coalition government is 14 June. On 7 June, a slender majority of MPs voted to convene the next plenary session in seven days time, giving the Orange coalition parties a further breathing space in which to finalise an agreement.

This latest development follows a meeting on June 6, between party leaders and President Yushchenko, described as highly productive. Another meeting is planned with the President after he returns from The Netherlands.

In a recent interview with the Spectator magazine BYUT leader and former prime minister, Yulia Tymosheko, put into context the drawn out negotiations that have taken place since the 26 March election: “This could look to some like instability or disorder but this, I can assure you, is not the case. All this testifies that a rapid and intense transformation is going on. Ukraine today is the Poland or the Czech Republic of the 1990s. All ways are open to us.”

The leadership of her eponymous bloc remains confident that a coalition agreement is close at hand, despite concerns over the Pro-Russian Party of Regions exploiting the drawn out process to gain political capital.

“Recent events in the Crimea illustrate how some forces have used the vacuum for their own political ends,” said Hryhoriy Nemyria, MP and foreign policy adviser. “We are confident in delivering an agreement that will return Yulia Tymoshenko as prime minister of a unified and strong Orange coalition government.

“Reaching an agreement is imperative. We do not wish to weaken our international standing and give succour to those who would use the delay to justify that Ukraine should be excluded from European integration.”

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