The Forum in Kyiv focused on challenges for Ukraine at the beginning of negotiation process on the EU accession
More than 50 representatives of the govement,parliament,civil society and the expert community discussed the key priorities in Ukraine’s accession to the EU during the forum Through Reforms to the Star: Parliament,Govement and Civil Society on May 22,2024. The Forum launched the new DRI’s project in Ukraine – ‘Democratic Accession,Resilience and Engagement (Ukraine-DARE)’,which among other goals,aims to facilitate harmonization of Ukrainian legislation to the EU.
Ukraine is preparing for official negotiations on EU membership already in June this year. According to the new accession methodology,EU’s legislation (acquis) is divided into 35 chapters united into 6 ‘cluster’ categories,with the Fundamentals cluster opening first and closing last.
The Forum participants discussed the key priorities and challenges for Ukraine at the beginning of the negotiation process,and reflected on various aspects of the ‘Fundamentals’ cluster. Namely the civil society representatives presented their vision of reform priorities,including the rule of law and public administration component.
The Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament,Ruslan Stefanchuk opened the event stating,‘This forum is the platform where the govement,civil society and our inteational partners can discuss what achievements and further tasks Ukraine has in approaching the negotiation process with the EU.’ Katarina Mateova,Ambassador of the European Union to Ukraine, also emphasized the importance of dialogue: The strength of civil society is the basis for stability. We support Ukraine financially as well as politically. And the dialogue between the legislative branch,the govement and the EU will become even more important when negotiations are opened.
The experts also discussed the negotiation process with the EU. According to Wolfgang Nozar,Head of Unit of Fundamentals,Rule of Law,Anti-Fraud and Financial Management at the EU’s Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations,the start of negotiations and the opening of a ‘Fundamentals’ cluster is a rather technical process. Its key driver will be the reforms,and the EU expects Ukraine to be active in this direction.
Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna noted Our negotiation process will include representatives of civil society and business. This will be a decision officially approved by the Govement. I think this is a very important element of not just European integration,but of reconciliation. In Ukraine,civil society is in a certain way opposed to the govement,and the govement is opposed to civil society. Today,this process is changing.
It is important for us that Ukraine wins on the battlefield. And one of those battlefields is the battlefield of ideas. These are European values,which are the antithesis of a totalitarian regime. Ukraine’s great ambitions and what it is doing to join the European Union are also part of this victory,especially in the cluster of fundamental rights, said Paul Zoubkov,the DRI’s Programme Manager Europe.
The event was held as part of the project ‘Democratic Accession,Resilience and Engagement in Ukraine’ (Ukraine-DARE),which is implemented by Democracy Reporting Inteational (DRI) with the financial support of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany and in cooperation with the Reanimation Package of Reforms Coalition and the Center for Political and Legal Reforms. The opinions and views expressed during the event do not necessarily reflect the position of the German Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.