But it was a very
interesting one indeed.
First of all, such
official correspondence is not a typical practice. Especially now,
when presidents talk quite frequently by phone. So, letters are
reserved only for important occasions. Or when telephone
conversations lead nowhere.
But even more
important was the essence of this letter, which was retold to
Yevropeiska Pravda by a source in Kyiv who had seen the letter, and
confirmed by a source in Brussels. In this letter Bussels insists
that Kyiv should accept the humanitarian aid for refugees from
Donbass.
We are talking about
25 million euro worth of aid from EU donors and volunteers. But it
seems that Ukraine does nor need that money. Barroso informed Petro
Poroshenko that Ukraine is not taking the necessary steps to get this
help.
Poroshenko might not
be the right addressee, because the problem is mostly because of the
parliament that has failed to take the right decision , and the
Cabinet of Ministers.
There are three key
problem points with humanitarian aid, and the president of the
European Commission is convinced they could easily be solved in just
a couple of days. Moreover, there was a deadline established for
Kyiv, Oct. 14.
Verkhovna Rada had
to approve a few laws on this issue, but they were not even included
in the agenda. So, there was no movement.
Barroso’s two-page
letter started off with compliments to the Ukrainian democracy and
ended with an emphatic request for Kyiv. The EC president asked
Ukraine to urgently adopt a new law on refugees that would help to
create a central registration system for refugees from Donbas.
This type of central
registration doesn`t exist in Ukraine yet, despite the numerous
requests from various international organizations.
The planning of aid
is impossible without it, and without the planning international
donors often are not allowed to work under their own rules.
The second point was
about changes in tax and customs rules for humanitarian
organizations. This is not a new issue either.
“Ukraine the
income tax on the money we are giving to help refugees. It`s
unacceptable. Even if the tax rate was 1 percent, we don’t think we
should be helping in those circumstances, ” says a representative
of one donor organization who wanted to stay anonymous.
And, finally,
Brussels emphasized on the importance of “real executive powers”
that should be given to the National Agency of Humanitarian Aid
Coordination, which was supposed to be created in Kyiv. So far, this
agency only exists on paper.
So, the deadline set
by the European Commission for adoption of these laws has passed.
Will the government try to adopt these norms, even with some delay?
Does Kyiv really have a desire to get the humanitarian aid as soon as
possible?
Setting this problem
aside and waiting for the next parliament to get elected is not
logical. Winter is coming, and many refugees need help urgently. They
need it now, not in the spring.
Serhiy Sydorenko
is chief editor of Yevropeiska Pravda, a media project dedicated to
Ukraine’s European integration issues.
