Ukraine’s ambassador to the EU has said a major police report was wrong in concluding that visa-free travel could help organised crime gangs to operate inside the union. Writing in a brief note emailed to press on Thursday (5 May), Kostiantyn Yelisieiev said the study, put out by Europol one day earlier, “undermines the impartial and objective nature” of the joint police body in The Hague.
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"It is not acceptable, and I expect that this unfortunate mistake will be corrected by Europol. I urge the Europol to revise its statements."
Yelisieiev did not deny that Ukraine has a problem with organised crime.
But he said the European Commission has in the past given more positive assessments of its efforts to improve law and order and indicated that any worries should be handled through its strategic agreement with Europol instead of being aired in public.
"Europol statements are not consistent [with EU commission findings] and might prejudge future assessment to be conducted by the European Commission in the framework of visa liberalisation dialogue with Ukraine," he noted.
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