Ukraine’s five pro-EU party leaders initial coalition agreement

Representatives of the five pro-EU political parties elected to Ukraine’s parliament last month initialed on Nov. 21 the agreement to form the next coalition government, Ukraine’s news agencies reported this morning. The agreement will be officially presented this afternoon. Vitaliy Kovalchuk, a representative of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc, described it as a “road map for our country in the next five years and the three weeks that were spent on drafting the coalition agreement is a very brief term.”

Kovalchuk also said he hopes a constitutional majority will emerge in parliament that will be able to amend the Constitution in order to provide for decentralization of government and canceling parliamentary immunity for MPs. The agreement will be signed by the leaders of parliamentary factions (to be formed largely from the elected parties) on Nov. 27 at the first session of the eighth convocation of Ukraine’s parliament.

Zenon Zawada: The agreement took three weeks and five days to initial and more than four weeks to sign (once it happens on Nov. 27). Kovalchuk is also a bit off the mark when claiming the agreement will be in place for five years. The draft indicates many of the reforms can be fulfilled within a single year, especially with such a solid majority that claims to be committed to modernizing the country.

However, the political teams of President Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk (who won the most votes) have demonstrated so far they’re not committed to the radical reforms needed by the country. Moreover, the coalition agreement lacks a plan of action that sets certain goals as higher priorities or an overall vision for the country’s development for the next five years. Many reform proposals are vague. In their attempt to change Ukrainian politics for the better, the politicians have merely resorted to business as usual.

We have to be optimistic that the new government will pull the country through this current tributlation. But at the same time, we foresee much trouble in executing the tectonic changes called for by the president. The divisions and rivalries are already apparent. Unfortunately, 2015 will be a year of great turbulence for the Ukrainian state and suffering for its citizens.