Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine

The Chair of the Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the EU Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze took part in two educational events. She held an online lecture for political science students of the Uzhhorod National University and was a speaker at a networking and professional development training for employees of government structures of Ukraine. Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze spoke about the challenges of European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine.

She noted that this month the European Commission will provide an interim assessment of the fulfilment of the seven conditions that accompanied the candidate status to Ukraine. ‘I believe that this will be a signpost that will give us the opportunity to finish our homework. In September, a final assessment of all candidate countries negotiating membership with the EU will be drawn up. It will be published at the end of October. Based on the assessment, the European Council will make a decision at the end of this year,’ said the Chair of the Committee.

She is convinced that Ukraine should take advantage of the opportunity to open EU membership negotiations this year, because elections to the European Parliament will be held in 2024 and the European Commission will undergo some reforms. This means that the political situation may change: ‘As soon as we achieve the opening of membership negotiations, it will give us the opportunity to have a much deeper involvement of the European bureaucracy in the processes in Ukraine, and it will allow us to move faster towards the goal set by the Ukrainian society’.

Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze also warned politicians and authorities against populism around the topic of European and Euro-Atlantic integration which creates inflated expectations in society. ‘You can sometimes hear that Ukraine has already completed more than 70% of the tasks required for joining the European Union. This is not true. According to the assessment of the monitoring system for the implementation of the Association Agreement with the EU, created back in 2016, we have currently implemented 70% of the Association Agreement. But when we were developing this rating system, we couldn't have anticipated that we would need to rate rollback in certain areas. There are a lot of them today,’ said the Chair of the Committee. According to her, joining the European Union in two years in unlikely: ‘Moreover, I dare say that it would not be beneficial for Ukraine. Because we would not be ready for many processes, and we would not be able to protect some areas in our economy. This would a serious challenge.’ At the same time, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze hopes that the ambitious goal of opening EU membership negotiations will still be achieved by the end of this year.

As for Euro-Atlantic integration, the Chair of the Committee welcomed the efforts at all levels aimed at obtaining a clear algorithm for moving towards NATO: ‘I am glad that today everyone has finally realised that the only potential guarantee of our security in the future and a guarantee of long-term stable peace on the European continent, is Ukraine’s membership in NATO. It is good that efforts at all levels are now aimed at getting a clear signal from the North Atlantic Alliance on how our relations will further develop.’

Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze noted that today there is no consensus among the members of the Alliance regarding statements in Vilnius on Ukraine’s membership in NATO: ‘So far, there is only a willingness to enlarge the comprehensive aid package, which is a framework for relations between Ukraine and the Alliance. Our Armed Forces are becoming more compatible with the armed forces of the Alliance every day, through the use of the most diverse types of weapons provided to Ukraine and through the training that our soldiers undergo in member countries of the Alliance. But we must understand that not armed forces, but the countries are those who join NATO. This means that the tasks facing European integration and Euro-Atlantic integration roughly coincide’.

She reminded that, in addition to military training and synchronisation for joining the Alliance, it is important to follow the democratic principles, the rule of law, the protection of rights and freedoms, the basic principles of the separation of powers, balances and counterbalances. ‘These values are fundamental for both EU member states and NATO member states. Therefore, all the efforts made for joining the European Union also contribute to joining the North Atlantic Alliance,’ concluded Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze.