Crimea referendum: Statement by CORLEAP co-chairs Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso and Mamuka Abouladze

"Ahead of the referendum on Crimea’s independence on 16 March, we call for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine to be respected All military intervention in Ukraine must be stopped and international law and multilateral agreements must be upheld.   

"The Ukrainian constitution needs to be respected and preserved in Crimea as well as in all Ukrainian regions, in order to guarantee the rule of law and stability in the country and in the neighbouring area. The unilateral decision to hold a referendum, under the military pressure of the Russian Federation, on the future status of Crimea is illegal. It represents a violation of sovereignty of Ukraine which has a significant impact on its unity and the stability of the entire region.

"We call on the Ukrainian government to ensure the full respect of minorities within the framework of its international commitments, in line with the European Convention on Human Rights, the Helsinki Final Act and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. We urge Ukrainian authorities to step up administrative reforms as soon as possible, thereby promoting further territorial reform and regional autonomy, and empowering Ukrainian regional and local authorities through measures lawfully enacted under the Ukrainian constitution.

"We assure national, regional and local authorities of Ukraine that they have CORLEAP's full support and cooperation for achieving the goals of territorial cooperation and European integration.

CORLEAP: The Conference of the Regional and Local Authorities for the Eastern Partnership (CORLEAP) was established by the Committee of the Regions (CoR) in 2011 to bring a regional and local dimension into the EU's Eastern Partnership. CORLEAP brings together 36 regional and local politicians - including 18 from the CoR representing the EU and 18 from the Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine). By involving the local and regional levels in the implementation of the EU's Eastern Partnership, the CoR aims to strengthen local and regional self-government in the partner countries and bring the Eastern Partnership closer to its citizens.

CORLEAP is co-chaired by Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso, president of the EU Committee of the Regions and of the Autonomous Community of Murcia (Spain), and Mamuka Abouladze, member of the Rustavi City Assembly (Georgia) and president of the Georgian Association of Local Authorities.

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