Doc. 9767 2^nd edition

17 April 2003

Appeal of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to the United Nations, Countries of the Great Seven, the European Communities and to the EBRD

Written Declaration No 343

2^nd edition, originally tabled on 1 April 2003

This written declaration commits only the members who have signed it

      17 years will have passed on 26 April 2003 since the Chernobyl disaster took place - the gravest technological, humanitarian and environmental catastrophe in the history of mankind.

The state of Ukraine is not able to resolve the many problems due to the following technical and economic reasons:

1.       A lot of defective nuclear waste fuel is still stored at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Existing technical capacity does not allow the assessment of its condition.

2.       The technical grant provided by the European Union for offering jobs to the staff of the power plant after its closure has not yet been put into operation.

3.       The EBRD fund of micro credits aimed at reforming communal services in the town of Slavutych has not yet been put into operation.

4.       Ukraine will not be able to provide social protection of people without international aid (2.5 billion US dollars).

In the light of the above-mentioned we, members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, ask the United Nations, countries of the Great Seven, the European Community and the EBRD to consider the possibility of giving assistance by providing required scientific, technical and economic aid to Ukraine with the aim of liquidating the after-effects of the Chernobyl disaster as soon as possible.

Signed (see overleaf)

Signed: ¹

Rakhansky, Ukraine, UEL

Abbasov, Azerbaijan, EDG

Baburin, Ukraine, UEL

Christodoulides, Cyprus, UEL

Duka-Zólyomi, Slovakia, EPP/CD

Einarsson, Sweden, UEL

Galoyan, Armenia, EPP/CD

Gamzatova, Russia, UEL

Gostev, Russia, UEL

Hladiy, Ukraine, EDG

Hovhannisyan, Armenia, EDG

Klympush, Ukraine, EDG

Laakso, Finland, UEL

Manukyan, Armenia, UEL

Maštálka, Czech Republic, UEL

Mesquita, Portugal, UEL

Mollazade, Azerbaijan, LDR

Neguta, Moldova, UEL

Oliynyk, Ukraine, UEL

Pysarenko, Ukraine, Soc

Shybko, Georgia, SOC

Soendergaard, Denmark, UEL

Zhvania, Georgia, Soc

Ateş, Turkey, SOC

__________________________

Total = 24

¹        SOC: Socialist Group

      EPP/CD: Group of the European People’s Party

      EDG: European Democratic Group

      LDR: Liberal, Democratic and Reformers’ Group

      UEL: Group of the Unified European Left

      NR: not registered in a group