Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, has passed a law on inserting amendments to the Constitution regarding Ukraine’s strategic rapprochement with NATO and the European Union.
The document was endorsed by 334 lawmakers, while at least 300 votes were necessary to amend the country’s principal law, particularly states that the Constitution’s enacting clause will mention Ukraine’s “irreversible course on the Euro-Atlantic integration.”
Besides, the amendment enshrines gaining full European Union and NATO memberships among the competencies of the Cabinet of Ministers and the Rada. It also defines the president as a guarantor of this strategic course.
At the same time, the amendment confirmed the constitutional provision stating that foreign nations can have their military bases in Ukraine’s territory only in form of a leasing agreement ratified by the parliament.
The vote was met with applause in the parliament hall.
Andriy Parubiy, the Rada speaker, called it “the beginning of a real integration into EU and NATO,” and a “milestone day in Ukraine’s history.”
Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko claimed in his address to the parliament that he was confident that the Ukrainian leadership would continue with its efforts on reforming the country.
“It’s very important that NATO is about security,” he said.
“Not only about military security… but also about a citizens’ security — the safety in the streets, the protection of constitutional rights and liberties, the rule of law. And this is what unites us regarding the amendments to the legislation and conducting reforms in our beloved Ukraine.”
He also added that the nation strongly need to shun those calling to keep Ukraine non-aligned for the past 10 years.
“I want to remind everyone that Russia’s aggression was unleashed in February 2014, when Ukraine had a non-bloc status. And it failed to save us.”
The constitutional amendments regarding the EU and NATO aspiration — unprecedented among all nations ever seeking memberships in the union or the Alliance — were persistently pushed forward by Poroshenko for the past several month, allegedly as a guarantee of Ukraine’s unchangeable policy of Euro-Atlantic rapprochement secured from being potentially crippled by pro-Russian political forces inside the country.
However, numerous critics consistently rebuff Poroshenko’s claims regarding the amendment, calling it a populistic and ostentatious step aimed to increase Poroshenko’s popularity amid presidential elections campaign rather that bringing something meaningful to Ukraine’s NATO-EU reform.
