Heads of Ukrainian Churches and Religious Organizations Urge EU to Sign Association Agreement with Ukraine

Representatives of the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations have supported the appeal to the EU to conclude an Association Agreement with Ukraine.

This was announced during a meeting of representatives AUCCRO with the European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle, held in Brussels, UKRINFORM reported.

"Ukrainian representatives of churches and religious organizations supported the appeal to the EU to conclude in November 2013 the association agreement as one that meets the European aspirations of the Ukrainian people and contributes to reinforcing the modern European model of civilization development in Ukraine," said the representative of Ukraine to the EU, Ambassador Konstantin Eliseev.

According to him, the religious leaders were unanimously in favor of the fact that Ukraine's future should be built on European values ​​and democratic standards, and that they urge the EU not to leave Ukraine alone with today's challenges. The ambassador stressed that the EU had a chance to once again see the active position of the Ukrainian civil society as well as of the leaders of religious organizations on the EU-Ukraine dialogue and the support for the European course of Ukraine’s development.

"An important signal from the Ukrainian clergy was the willingness to spread in Europe Ukraine’s experience of peaceful coexistence and constructive cooperation between the different religions and denominations, which corresponds to the spirit of the best European traditions," said Eliseev.

He also said that representatives of the Ukrainian denominations urged European Commissioner Štefan Füle to accelerate the implementation of Ukraine's visa-free regime with the EU.

"In this regard, the representatives of the religious communities asked to avoid any politicization of this important issue for millions of Ukrainians," the ambassador added.