Madam President, the brave people of Ukraine need our solidarity and committed assistance. I came back from the Euromaidan believing it is a genuine, popular revolution for human rights, democracy and the rule of the law. It was never about making Ukraine choose between the EU and Russia. Ukraine is part of Europe and must live in peace and good relations with all its neighbours, but Mr[nbsp ]Putin cannot export his model and impose an oligarchic, corrupt regime in Ukraine against the will of the people.

Ukraine needs, immediately, a government which will be in tune with the Euromaidan in delivering accountable governance while assuming urgent financial commitments, and one which will not promote stupid decisions such as the language law, playing into the hands of those who plan the division of the country.

Minority rights must be protected and the will of the Tatars, specifically, must be respected. We cannot afford a conflict in Crimea, forgetting the lessons of the First World War a hundred years ago. Besides supporting Ukraine politically and financially, the EU must provide concrete governance assistance to enable reform of the justice system and mechanisms against corruption. This means the EU must enact targeted sanctions against the corrupt, and help Ukraine to recover stolen assets, and it must assist in credible trials of all those responsible for the Maidan mass murders and other grave human rights violations.

Ukraine's revolution is a product of EU soft power: our values, our principles and our goals. The EU cannot fail Ukraine. To do so would be to fail Europe.