Council of Europe disapproves Ukraine referendum to change constitution

The Venice Commission of the Council of Europe stated in an opinion released on June 18 that constitutional amendments approved through a law on referenda (passed last year by parliament) will be harmful to the constitutional stability and legitimacy in Ukraine. Moreover, the current Constitution doesn’t allow for approving a new constitution by referendum.

Zenon Zawada: The referendum law places yet another potential hurdle in relations between the Ukrainian and EU governments. There is growing evidence that the administration of President Viktor Yanukovych plans to use referenda to pursue reforms that it can’t achieve in parliament. Holding such referenda, some of them on issues that are controversial, could undermine Euro-integration efforts.