KYIV – Summit participants reaffirmed that the future of Ukraine and its citizens lies in the European Union. This is stated in the first paragraph of the joint statement on the results of the 24-year-old summit between Ukraine and the European Union, which took place on February 3 in Kiev.
“We share the common values of democracy, the rule of law, respect for international law and human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities, and gender equality. The EU reaffirmed its strong support and commitment to the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders,” reads the joint statement after Summit.
Summit participants “strongly” condemn Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine and say the EU will support Ukraine for as long as it takes.
“We underlined the historical significance of the decision of the European Council of June 23, 2022 to recognize the European perspective and to grant Ukraine the status of a candidate country,” the document reads.
He pays attention to the Association Agreement, to the tasks of European integration that Ukraine is carrying out.
“The EU recognized the considerable efforts made by Ukraine in recent months to achieve the objectives underlying its status as a candidate for EU membership, welcomed Ukraine’s reform efforts in these difficult times and encouraged the country to continue on this path and to fulfill the conditions set out in the Commission’s conclusion on Ukraine’s membership application with a view to making progress towards future EU membership”, stresses the joint statement.
The parties also reaffirmed the need to continue judicial reforms, reforms of the Constitutional Court, calling them “vital to strengthen Ukraine’s resilience and to progress in the enlargement process”, “welcomed the progress made to ensure the independent and effective functioning of anti-corruption institutions […]”.
“Ukraine and the EU reaffirmed their commitment to fully respect the rights of persons belonging to minorities, as enshrined in the relevant UN and Council of Europe conventions and protocols,” says the document.
The EU is fully committed to continuing to provide and coordinate a full range of humanitarian aid and assistance to Ukrainian society in close cooperation with international humanitarian organisations, says the Ukrainian President’s website quoting a joint statement from the summit.
Summit to the sound of an air raid
Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked for the support that the European Union has given to Ukraine over the past year.
“And, despite the siren sounds, I want to thank you for not being afraid of those sounds and for being with us in this war on the side of good,” Zelenskyyy said.
According to him, in addition to symbolism, the current summit also has a practical content: Ukraine completes the implementation of seven recommendations of the European Commission concerning the obtaining by the Ukrainian state of the status of candidate for membership of the EU.
In addition, as the President of Ukraine said, measures for the near future, necessary for both Ukraine and the entire European community, will be considered.
“We expect this spring an interim assessment by the European Commission of our progress, which has been made under the most difficult conditions of facing Russian terror and a large-scale invasion. I am sure that what Ukraine has achieved deserves a positive assessment,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian head of state expressed his gratitude for the presentation of an analytical report on the implementation of EU law by Ukraine.
“Our objective is absolutely clear: the start of negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. And I believe that the EU will be ready for negotiations on Ukraine’s accession already this year,” he stressed.
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, noted in his speech that in June 2022 Ukraine was granted the status of a candidate member of the European Union, and the country-state is progressing quite quickly on the path to European integration.
“You can count on us. We will support your efforts. And the European Council is there only to regularly analyze what needs to be done on the road to accession,” he said.
According to him, financial, military and humanitarian support for Ukraine, the encouragement of EU states to strengthen their operational capacities, as well as the policy of sanctions against Russia are now very important.
“Today the sounds of air raids remind us that you are facing a brutal aggressor. But the fact that during this war we nevertheless met here to discuss the future of Ukraine demonstrates that we are much more stronger than this aggressor. And so it will be,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the summit.
She also positively assessed the progress made by Ukraine in implementing the European Commission’s seven recommendations and expressed her hope for rapid progress.
The future of Ukraine in the European Union
During the final press conference, Ursula von der Leyen said that the European Commission is allocating one billion euros to ensure the rapid resumption of schools and hospitals in Ukraine and already has a special secretariat to coordinate the process.
“That’s why we are starting with a rapid recovery. This is part of a more comprehensive recovery process. I am ready to announce that the first billion will be provided to ensure the recovery. We already have a special secretariat that is working and starting to coordinate these processes, so we can start immediately,” the European Commission president said, according to Ukrinform.
The head of the European Council, Charles Michel, told a press conference that the European Union supports the Ukrainian peace formula and is ready to work on the implementation of the ten points and to organize a peace summit.
“Today we are clearly talking about two things. The first message for all Ukrainian people is that the European Union will support you in all areas. We do not feel intimidated, we are not afraid of the Kremlin, because Ukraine and the EU are one family. The second message is the future of Ukraine, of course, in the European Union,” Michel said.
Ukraine must seize its chance
Yaroslav Pavlovsky, director of the Information Society Institute, notes that the Kiev summit is the necessary symbolic steps that bring Ukraine closer to true European integration.
“Of course, this event was unlikely to yield concrete results in the form of agreed European integration timetables. But there is no doubt that it gives a real, and not a declarative, movement from Ukraine to the European Union, it demonstrates support for Ukraine among EU countries, ”Yaroslav Pavlovsky told the correspondent from the Russian service of media.
He notes that, despite the war, Ukraine must realize the chance of being among the EU member states.
“As practice shows, Ukraine is doing everything possible for European integration. Of course, it is not necessary to say that today or tomorrow, when the war continues, it will be institutionally possible to join, but it is quite obvious that after a great Ukrainian victory, which will be accepted as a European victory, Ukraine will enter the European family,” says Yaroslav Pavlovsky.
Demonstration of Ukraine’s journey towards European integration
Political scientist Petr Oleshchuk stresses the importance of meetings in Kiev with representatives of European authorities for the development of Ukraine’s European integration.
“In general, it is a demonstration of Ukraine’s journey towards European integration. The summit itself is an important event for Ukraine in the context of the European perspective. In this case, of course, in the foreground is support for Ukraine in the context of the war that Russia is pursuing against us,” Petr Oleshchuk told media’s Russian service correspondent.
He believes that Ukraine is ready for decisive action in the field of European integration and is showing determination in the fight against corruption.
“On the eve of the Ukraine-EU summit, we saw high-profile anti-corruption investigations, NABU and other government agencies proved to be quite effective. In itself, the fight against corruption is an important element for development of European integration”, points out Piotr Oleshchuk.
According to him, the Russian aggression will not affect the process of European integration measures in the country.
“Anyway, the European integration process cannot take place instantly, from a legal point of view there are many approvals needed. But the war is not an obstacle to the work of the executive and legislative authorities of Ukraine in the process of European integration,” said Petro Oleshchuk.
