BRUSSELS, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU)
on Tuesday hailed the formation of a coalition in Ukraine, said a news release
from the European Commission.
"I welcome the announcement of the formation of a
coalition following September's early parliamentary elections in Ukraine," EU
Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighborhood Policy Benita
Ferrero-Waldner was quoted as saying.
She said the future government "has important
challenges ahead as Ukraine continues down the path of constitutional,
political, and economic reform."
"The European Commission stands side-by-side with
Ukraine as it continues along this path of reform," Ferrero-Waldner added.
Ukraine's two major political parties, Yulia
Tymoshenko's bloc and Our Ukraine Party-People's Self-Defense, signed a draft
deal on a coalition government Monday.
Under the deal, the Tymoshenko party will nominate
the candidate for prime minister while Our Ukraine will nominate the candidate
for speaker of parliament.
Tymoshenko expressed hope that parliament members of
the Lytvin party, led by former parliament speaker Volodymyr Lytvin, would also
join the coalition.
In last month's legislative elections, Ukrainian
Prime Minister Victor Yanukovych's Regions Party garnered 175 seats out of a
total of 450, Tymoshenko's bloc won 156, Our Ukraine 72, the Communists 27 and
the Lytvin party 20.
The total seats won by Tymoshenko's bloc and Our
Ukraine surpassed the majority, enabling them to establish a coalition
government.
