Stronger Together

The campaign aims to explain to the public the principles and benefits that closer cooperation with the EU would involve for Ukraine. The campaign, launched at the initiative of the EU Delegation to Ukraine and supported by the embassies of Britain, Germany, and the Netherlands, had its presentation held at the Concert Hall of the National Philharmonic Society of Ukraine on September 10, 2013. Numerous Ukrainian political scientists and sociologists, representatives of national and European business community, ambassadors of the EU member nations, and journalists attended the event. By the way, its guests included also newly appointed US Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt, leader of the All-Ukrainian Union Svoboda Oleh Tiahnybok, and frontman of the Okean Elzy band Sviatoslav Vakarchuk, the latter being a speaker at the event.

Greeting the audience in Ukrainian, the EU Ambassador to Ukraine Jan Tombinski said that the Association Agreement would be “an act of both strategic and historical choice” for Kyiv. “The EU does not impose any decisions on Ukraine which could damage its relationship with its neighbors, including Russia. Quite the opposite, the association of Ukraine with the EU could benefit Russia, too, as the economic development and stability in one country always become part of its neighbors’ experience,” Tombinski noted. Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andrii Olefirov’s speech followed, stating the government’s position on this campaign and the crucial Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius. “On signing of the agreement, our bilateral relationship would reach the level of association that requires systemic reforms,” Olefirov noted. He said the campaign would be a success if joined by civic activists and public figures, famous and successful Ukrainians.

However, promoting public awareness of the benefits of European integration, to be done through roundtables, training sessions, outdoor universities, meetings, events, and conferences, is only part of the job. Ukrainian authorities have to fulfill a number of conditions to convince Brussels that Ukraine has taken “decisive action and made real progress” in addressing issues of selective justice and implementing reforms.

Director of the Institute of World Policy Aliona Hetmanchuk regretted in her comments for The Day that the project “Stronger Together” had only been launched shortly before the Vilnius summit. “The campaign is being launched when the whole of Ukraine, and especially the provinces, is flooded with arguments against European integration,” Hetmanchuk said. “I am learning about the situation from experience, traveling across the country with outdoor university projects and talking to people. Over the past six months, many new, previously unknown myths attacking the project of integration with the EU have appeared. Of course, had we started this campaign even as late as six months ago, we would have much easier task in this discussion today... However, the time shortage will benefit the campaign, making it more ambitious and efficient.”

Political analyst Ostap Kryvdyk agrees with Hetmanchuk: “Better late than never... I do not think it is too late. We have two months left still. This is enough time to transmit key messages to the public. We, I mean our European Offensive campaign, will join this process, too. From the outset, Stefan Fuele said that the EU needs ‘a significant progress’ to sign the agreement. I think they will pay attention to whether that progress will be in evidence. Speaking about Russian aggression towards Ukraine, it has had the opposite effect. Russian pressure shows how important Ukraine is, while the techniques used to exert this pressure show how the Customs Union would work for us, creating an additional argument for the European integration of Ukraine in this way.”