MEPs urge Ukraine leaders to swiftly form government and launch reforms

Ukraine should swiftly form a new government and launch reforms, MEPs told the country's leaders following the parliamentary elections on Sunday (26 October) won by pro-European parties. The European Parliament was present with an observation mission to ensure the elections were run fairly and transparently. In a meeting with Ukraine's president and prime minister the following day, the MEPs vouched to do everything in the EP's power to help implement the recently ratified association agreement.

On Monday (27 October) the delegation led by Andrej Plenkovic (EPP, Croatia) met with president Petro Poroschenko and prime minister Arseniy Yatsenuk, whose parties gained the biggest support with each obtaining about 22% of the vote. "Despite the extremely difficult situation in the country, the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia and the aggression Ukraine is suffering, the government and the electoral authorities succeeded in organising these elections very well," Plenkovic said.

The election observation mission boasted 14 MEPs from nine different EU countries, representing all of the Parliament's political groups. On elections day they observed the opening of polling, voting and the count in Kiev, Odessa, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Cherkasy.