Where We Are Not

As a rule, new people come to power with new goals, including new foreign policy goals. “Viktor Yushchenko’s overriding goal is to ensure Ukraine’s full membership in the European Union,” Oleh Rybachuk, one of Yushchenko’s closest associates said recently. He added that like the countries that recently joined the EU, Ukraine will form a department that will serve as a “locomotive of European integration.” Earlier, Viktor Yushchenko called it a key department in the future executive branch. Yuliya Tymoshenko, however, made a surprising statement in an interview with a Russian newspaper to the effect that Ukraine will go to NATO hand in hand with Russia. There are also some people in Yushchenko’s entourage who not so long ago were “headed for Europe together with Russia.” Apparently, the strategy of European integration of the new power is at a developmental stage, to put it mildly.

Understandably, the very idea of speeding Ukraine’s integration into the European community is not a new one. To date Ukraine’s high-ranking officials have made more than enough declarations about our European choice. However, Ukraine has made real progress toward Europe only owing to the efforts of individual politicians and media outlets, as well as musicians, singers, athletes, writers, scholars, and artists. Will the new power go beyond declarations? What is the new strategy for achieving the stated goal? The Day asked its experts to reply to these questions. This time around, there were more Euro-optimists among them than Euro-skeptics. Incidentally, further cause for optimism is the fact that Ukraine was awarded the European Region of 2005 title on the eve of the Old New Year. The international jury that awarded the title believes that Kyiv and another winner in this category, Italy’s Piedmont, are capable of promoting the deepening of European integration owing to their characteristics, efforts, and desire to be the leaders in this direction, Kyiv City Hall press service said late last week. Last week the European Parliament also passed a resolution calling on the EU executive bodies to revise the Ukraine-EU Action Plan and hold talks on expanding it, taking into account the new situation in Ukraine, announced European Integration Parliamentary Committee chairman Borys Tarasiuk.

Ivan KURAS, People’s Deputy of Ukraine, director of the Institute for Political and Ethnic Studies at the Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences:

“The main question of our accession to Europe is deadlines. But neither newly-elected President Yushchenko, nor any EU official can answer this question. The current situation is special in that Europe views our third president as a representative of the new power and kindred democratic forces that it can deal with. Within this context, the degree of support that European structures accorded the candidate [Yushchenko] is justified in terms of morals and ethics.

“The first concrete steps could be efforts to speed accession to the WTO. But in this case previous experience must be taken into account, in particular the progress made during Kuchma’s epoch, which is considerable. I mean the European vector of the country’s development set forth in a relevant doctrine, the creation of a corresponding ministry, etc. It is crucial to reinforce the existing preconditions for EU accession. As a citizen of this country I sometimes feel resentful that some countries, which are trailing behind Ukraine in many respects, have outpaced us in this process. It’s also likely that our relationship with NATO will acquire a new meaning.

“In one of his recent interviews Oleh Rybachuk expressed his wish to chair a special committee dealing with questions of European integration. This practice has been successfully tested in many countries that are currently full EU members. If such a committee proves effective and its chairman is vested with powers on a par with those of a vice prime minister, there will be no need to create a similar specialized ministry.”

Ihor OSTASH, People’s Deputy of Ukraine, deputy chairman of the foreign affairs committee in parliament, vice-president of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly:

“Indeed, until now the policy of European integration was mostly declarative in nature, and in the past thirteen years we haven’t made any tangible progress in this direction. European officials have grown accustomed to this and no longer take the statements by our leaders seriously. Yet the direction was declared from the outset, so it is time to discuss a change of approaches that must be based on new legal technologies. It’s time to raise the question of creating a separate, specialized ministry within the new government or, as Mr. Rybachuk has proposed, at least significantly expanding the powers of the specialized committee in the Verkhovna Rada all the way to granting it the right to veto bills that run counter to European legislation. But there isn’t much time left, as we must make the most of the energy boost that we received from the Orange rallies on Independence Square. I think that the European parliament will in turn tangibly support Ukraine in its progress, even thought there are many sluggish bureaucrats there as well. Another key factor that we must focus on is fresh blood, primarily young specialists on European law.

“In effect, there are four steps that Ukraine must climb on its way to Europe. The first is earning market economy status, which is possible already this year; the second, joining the World Trade Organization; third, a free trade zone with EU member states; and fourth, signing the associate membership agreement, which will be possible already in 2007.”

Oleksiy ZAKHARCHENKO, Voters’ Committee of Ukraine, Sumy:

“Before examining the obstacles in Ukraine’s path to the European Union, we must clearly understand which of these obstacles are artificial. In particular, there is a myth that most Ukrainians oppose this accession. In effect, it was one of the main directions in the PR campaign of the losing candidate — fueling the European integration hysteria. Perhaps the abundance of materials critical of the EU carried by publications at all levels, from nationwide newspapers to in-house organs, did sway public opinion, but few really believe that the millions of people who voted for Viktor Yanukovych do not want Ukraine to join the EU.

“What people expect from membership is a different question. A commonly asked question is: ‘What’s in it for us? What privileges will we have?’ instead of ‘What should we change here? What standards should we achieve to be admitted to the EU?’ So, in my view, the main direction in forming the public opinion should be making people understand that the EU is not a panacea for problems, but an indicator of a certain level of development. And if Ukraine achieves the level where they agree to admit us to the EU, membership itself will not matter all that much, because life will have improved in Ukraine in the first place.

“On the other hand, aside from preparing Ukrainian society, we must also prepare European society. And there could be no better opportunity to do so than the one we have now. The events of the past few months have expressly shown to Europe and the whole world that the Ukrainian people have rid themselves of the baggage of the Soviet past. But it is no more than a wonderful launching pad for moving toward Europe. We must prove our readiness to enter Old Europe not with protests but with real steps taken by the government. There is hope that the new president and government will understand this.”

Volodymyr DERHACHOV, professor, expert on geopolitics:

“In my view, the creation of a new department for European integration would not bring about the desired result. First, we had a similar department before, but none of its directors were able to answer the simple question: ‘Is there any documented proof of the EU’s plans with respect to Ukraine?’ Granted, they have greeted Ukraine’s Orange Revolution. But at the same time EU officials continue to speak about Ukraine’s possible accession to this union as a long-term prospect. Moreover, in recent months the EU put forward a new concept for European integration, a concept of seven spaces, which is founded on integration at different tempos in different directions. Thus, there are different timeframes for creating a civil society or a legal groundwork, and for developing a transport infrastructure. Yet no matter what concept the EU may propose, we will not begin moving toward the EU until we answer one fundamental question: ‘What can Ukraine offer the European Union?’ or, as they say in Odesa, ‘What’s in it for the EU?’ We should never forget that Western thinking is founded on pragmatism. When Spain’s integration with the EU was on the agenda, it was viewed as Europe’s biggest resort. When it was Greece’s turn, its main assets were not only unique monuments of the ancient world, but also Europe’s largest tanker fleet. What can we offer today? I think that unless we answer this question, there is no point in discussing our prospects of entering the EU.

“Today the European Union itself has no definitive idea about eastward expansion. Great Britain’s stand on this issue is very clear. In her book, Margaret Thatcher openly opposes any eastward expansion of the EU, since this could erode Europe’s age-old values. Figuratively speaking, she doesn’t want an English lord and an Eastern politician of a criminal and corrupt state sharing the same bench. In her view, such proximity might cause voters in Western countries to lose faith in their government.

“It is common knowledge that the decision to admit new Eastern European members to the EU on May 1, 2004, was more politically motivated than economically motivated, as none of the new members met all the EU requirements. However, the population in each of these new EU member states is much smaller than that of Ukraine. They have also outpaced Ukraine in terms of economic development. In terms of its macroeconomic indicators throughout the years of independence, Ukraine has moved farther away from Europe than it ever was. Ukraine’s GDP has shrunk threefold since 1990, while the countries of Central and Eastern Europe have been able to offset this decline. Therefore, for starters we must openly admit that we have major problems, and start rebuilding the country’s destroyed potential. In doing so, we must consider long-term prospects and focus on those industries that might be of interest to European countries.”

Valery KOKOT, deputy and acting head of the Department of Foreign Relations and Trade at the Chernihiv Oblast State Administration:

“Entry into the European world is a comprehensive process. It affects all spheres of the Ukrainians’ socioeconomic, sociopolitical, and cultural life. Therefore, we must determine the means of Ukraine’s integration with Europe, based on what we must change in the first place. I would point out the following directions. First, an information policy aimed at supporting Ukraine’s aspirations for European integration. Notably, we must pursue this policy both inside Ukraine and abroad. We are facing a lack of information about the benefits of EU membership for citizens, businesses, institutions, and organizations. Aside from benefits, there are also possible downsides of which we are not aware. We must also discuss this; not in general terms, but in a way that would be accessible and comprehensible to the Ukrainian man in the street, who is no expert on these issues. Another direction is the technological component. It’s not enough to know everything about the united Europe. Adequate technological changes are necessary. This primarily applies to standards that our industry adheres to, as well as standards of interpersonal relations. Enterprises must necessarily embrace ISO 9000, 9001 standards, etc. Psychological changes are also necessary. We must learn to see the world through European eyes. Many of us have grown accustomed to seeing the world in black and white. But life has many other aspects that have to be taken into account. These transformations of our worldview must occur at all levels, beginning with kindergartens and ending with the molding of young personalities at schools of higher learning. Children must grow up with the realization that Ukraine is part of Europe, and that European values must be acceptable and understandable in Ukraine. At universities these benefits can be developed in line with the specializations chosen by young people. In this respect, language training is very important. The united Europe means communication using a common language. Most Europeans speak several languages, while we are not ready to join the EU as far our command of languages is concerned.”

Serhiy BILOSHYTSKY, candidate of history, Khmelnytsky:

“In my view, in discussions of the problem of Ukraine’s European choice, the political beau monde and certain media outlets have lately shifted notions. Instead of examining and discussing the expediency and possible prospects of Ukraine’s entry into the EU, they focus the public’s attention on technological aspects of this problem, as though it is Ukraine’s manifest destiny to become part of the EU under any circumstances.

“We have yet to see a mobilization of the nation’s scholarly and civic potential for a frank and responsible discussion of the prospects of Ukraine’s accession to the EU and NATO. Ukrainian citizens have not seen any analytical studies by the nation’s leading research centers, which would model possible scenarios of the development of Ukraine’s relationship with the key players in international politics, should Ukraine join the EU.

“I very much doubt that there are many Euro-optimists who can offer a responsible and sober forecast as to the progress of Ukraine’s accession to Euro-Atlantic structures and the pros and cons of membership, in particular the losses Ukraine might incur as a result of the possible closing of borders with Russia and other CIS neighbors.

“Perhaps Ukraine will have to join the EU after all: both as a result of internal factors and the external political situation, i.e., the strategic interests of the US and possibly those of the EU. Therefore, the question of creating a Ukrainian department for European integration remains highly relevant. This department would resolve these problems, examine internal and external factors, forecast possible scenarios, and influence processes.

“After all, if in the next fifteen years the EU admits Turkey and the Balkan countries, it will find it impossible to refuse to grant Ukraine the right to join the EU. However, if the European Union does admit them, it will have to completely change its organization.

“Some experts believe that the EU will be forced to transform itself into a significantly less rigid union, where there will no longer be stark divisions between its southern and eastern members, and countries outside the Union. This will in turn make possible a new format of the Russo-European relationship and will dispel the Russians’ fears that an expanding European Union can oust them from Europe.”