Ukraine's Top Successes and Failures. Interview With Rebecca Harms

What You Need To Know:

✔️‘The worst fears about Ukraine we had one year go haven’t  materialized’;
✔️‘The distance between political elites and regular citizens  in Ukraine is still too big’;
✔️Ukraine government has to be more ambitious, faster &  more transparent with reforms;
✔️Pro-Ukrainian majority in the European Parliament has  expanded substantially in the last year;
✔️LGBT equality has to be a part of Ukraine’s push for  establishing a democracy.

‘The worst fears about Ukraine we had one year go haven’t  materialized,’ Rebecca Harms, the leader of Greens in the European Parliament points  out. The Russian invasion didn’t go as far as Eastern Ukraine and Crimea allowing the Ukrainian government to proceed with crucial reforms, but the  speed of changes is not fast enough and lacks transparency, Harms says. ‘The  distance between political elites and regular citizens in Ukraine is still too  big’, the leader of Greens warns by highlighting the struggle of the Ukrainian  government to communicate their reforms to the people and stop rising public frustration.

When asked about rising violence against LGBT Ukrainians,  Harms admits a substantial gap between Ukraine and Europe when it comes to  civil rights equality. Although expanding rights for minorities is always a gradual  process, she urges to make it a part of the rapid process of building up a  strong democracy in Ukraine.

Hromadske International’s Maxim Eristavi spoke to Rebecca  Harms during the YES conference in Kyiv on September 12th, 2015.

Ukraine's Top Successes and Failures. Interview With Rebecca Harms by Hromadske International on Mixcloud