13 June 2023, 15:05
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.