Ukraine as a member of the EU - realistic or a dream scenario?

by Anastasiia Hrechka

As a child I have been always told that all doors are closed in Ukraine. That in order to succeed I have to leave. That success and opportunities are only available in Europe. This is the kind of mentality I grew up with. That‘s why my mom made the decision for me and immigrated to Germany when I was ten. And I was a part of this decision. She took me with her. Often I ask myself how my life would be if I would stay in Ukraine. How would it be if Ukraine would be a part of the EU? My life would be completely different now. The life of the whole Ukrainian community would change. Because I am not an exception. I am one amongst many.

The question is: Does Ukraine have a realistic chance of claiming membership of the EU? Especially considering that the Ukrainian community sees Europe as an inexhaustible source of wealth and fortune and desperately wish to be a part of it.

“Anatoliy Zlenko, [a Ukrainian politician,] said that “behind our back, other words were spoken [by EU politicians] – that Ukraine was too big for the EU and that by its dimensions, culture and history, it would not fit into the European Union”. Still, Ukraine is a priority partner for the EU. This is what the eastern partnership document says about their relationship. Through the Association Agreement including its Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area signed in 2014, Ukraine and the EU are in a special relationship. The bilateral trade grew by more than 50%, Ukrainians can enter 149 countries visa free, 40% of Ukraine’s trade is now with the EU. Generally, a lot of progress was made in the sections of Economy, governance, society and environment and connectivity with the help of the EU. However, this is not enough.

The EU runs out of tools. Disappointed by Ukraine’s lack of dedication concerning the corruption and oligarchism, the slow transformation of institutions, economy and society and the lack of political solution for the Donbass conflict, the EU Commissioner Günther Verheugen said:

“I think that anybody who thinks that Ukraine should be taken into the EU should perhaps come along with the argument that Mexico should be taken into the USA”.

However, on the EU-Ukraine-Peak on the 12th of October, 2021, the EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed that Ukraine is on a good path to join the EU. Still, she emphasised that a lot of things still need to be done and Ukraine has a long path to go. In an interview the Vice-Commission president Valdis Dombrovskis certified that an expansion of the EU in the coming future is not realistic and will not happen.

These results make Ukraine devastated. Zelenskyi, the Ukrainian President, said that more than seven years have already passed in which Ukrainians proved that they share the European values and that Ukraine will surely make the European Union stronger. Zelenskyi is trying hard to improve the situation in Ukraine: A law against oligarchism was passed on the 23rd of September. That’s why the Ukrainian community is even more furious and disappointed by the results of the EU-Ukraine-Peak. “Ukraine still has a long path to go.“ - Impatience grows every second.

Here is a statement of a young Ukrainian student about the results:

“In my opinion youth in Ukraine has more European views on life than ever. Nowadays we are developing with extraordinary speed.

Despite the conditions in Ukraine which are obviously not as favourable as in other European countries, we are trying to engage in self development. There is a big amount of really successful Ukrainians, many famous inventions and researches were done by Ukrainian scientists. Being a student I want to say that in spite of all problems in our country, the majority of the young generation is very intelligent and conscious of their actions. If you want to study, there are enough opportunities to develop yourself. A lot of lecturers are very professional and motivated, so they are doing a good job.

I have to admit that having more opportunities to study abroad or to become an exchange student, would be better for us because this experience can help us to improve our educational system which evidently is not perfect.

We are very upset because of the fact that we are not a part of the European Union but we are doing our best to improve our country and ourselves.

More and more Ukrainians are thinking about the meaning of life, they are trying to care about our planet and to lead a European way of life. But I would like to add that every country has its own way of developing, we all are unique but we need to consider the development of all countries because we all are not perfect.

“We are all not perfect“ - Ukraine is not an exception. Being one of the priority partners of the EU, Ukraine has made a lot of progress in different areas. Young people are motivated and most of them share European values.

So does Ukraine have a realistic chance of claiming membership of the EU? I would say no. At least not in the coming years.

Sources:

https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/system/ files/2021-03/eap_factsheet_ukraine.pdf

https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-should-come-clean-onukraine/

https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/europa/ukraine-eu-gipfel-101.html

https://dgap.org/en/research/publications/mismatched-expectations-are-straining-eu-ukraine-relations

http://www.policy.hu/pidluska/EU-Ukraine.htmlhttps://euobserver.com/opinion/152721