GUE/NGL MEPs last night deplored the enforcement of a new law in the Ukraine outlawing the Communist party and banning Communist propaganda and associated symbols.

GUE/NGL MEP Neoklis Sylikiotis (Cyprus) said : “We strongly condemn the fact the President Poroshenko has signed the law that declares unlawful any activities by the Communist Party of Ukraine. It is another blow to the supposedly democratic governance of the country, which aims to silence the forces fighting for peace in Ukraine. “

He continued: “The EU has a responsibility to intervene and condemn this unlawful prosecution which is more proof that we are dealing with a government driven by extreme right-wing forces and behaving in an authoritarian and undemocratic way.”

Portuguese GUE/NGL MEP Inês Zuber said: “This law on 'Communist and National Socialist (Nazi) totalitarian regimes in Ukraine and ban on the propaganda of their symbols' draws an unacceptable parallel between Communism and Nazism that our group can only condemn in the strongest possible terms.”

She added: “The law is not only tantamount to an all-out attack on basic freedoms as it will severely limit free speech, press freedom and outlaw the Ukrainian Communist Party and its activities but, in addition, it also risks increasing tensions in this war-torn country and could contribute to an escalation of the conflict.”