Court rules that blocking Poroshenko's intl activities following EP’s report illegal – lawyer
The Sixth Administrative Court of Appeals issued a ruling in the case of Ukrainian MP and leader of the European Solidarity party Petro Poroshenko against the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine regarding an illegal border crossing ban the day after the publication of the European Commission's report on EU enlargement, which stated that opposition parliamentarians in Ukraine continue to be subject to restrictions, notes lawyer Ihor Holovan, who released the text of the court ruling on Wednesday.
"Yesterday, a communication document from the European Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, and the relevant committees on EU enlargement policy for 2025 was published ... Regarding Ukraine, in particular, there is on page 21: certain opposition parliamentarians continue to be subject to restrictions, in particular regarding foreign travel or asset freezes. For the sustainability of democracy, it is important to continuously ensure respect for the rights of the opposition. And the day before yesterday, on November 3, 2025, the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeals established the fact of a gross violation by the authorities of the Constitution, laws, and (who would have thought it?) the rights of the opposition. These are the very same opposition rights for which the European Commission demands continued respect," Holovan wrote on Facebook.
According to him, this concerns "the arbitrary restriction by the Cabinet of Ministers on the rights of members of parliament (and dozens of other categories of citizens) to travel abroad, introduced by a government decree amending the Rules for Crossing the State Border." He added that paragraphs 2-14 of the Rules for Crossing the State Border of Ukraine "were found by the court to be unlawful and invalid."
However, Holovan isn't sure the court's ruling will be enforced. "What will Petro Poroshenko's 'personal border guards' do now? Will they be able to simply comply with the court's ruling? Or will they try to pretend they don't understand the official language and therefore ask for clarification of the ruling? We'll see soon. And we won't be the only ones to see it. The European Commission either," he wrote.
The lawyer also reported that the court awarded Poroshenko UAH 2,684 in court fees from the Cabinet of Ministers' budget. "And how will the government enforce this decision given the existence of illegal sanctions?" Holovan noted.
As reported, in 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a resolution prohibiting members of parliament, judges, and other officials from traveling outside Ukraine without permission from their leadership. The ban specifically applied to women, people with disabilities, and men over 60.
On November 4, 2025, the Administrative Court of Appeal ruled this government decision unlawful.
The European Solidarity party welcomed the publication of the European Commission's "Ukrainian file" on the same day, but also accused the Ukrainian government of selectively reading the report and ignoring a number of critical comments.
