Accession of Ukraine to the EU – What now? What next?

When the Center for Liberal Modernity was founded in 2017, the “illiberal counter­rev­o­lution” (Timothy Garton Ash) was already in full swing. But the force with which autocratic and illiberal currents have since picked up speed exceeds our fears. Our inter­na­tional conference “Rethinking Liber­alism — Challenges to Liber­alism in Turbulent Times” took place just days before Trump’s second inaugu­ration, in the third year of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and overshadowed by the electoral successes of right-wing populists across of Europe. 

Ukraine’s membership bid taken on real momentum since the country applied for EU membership in the early days of the full-scale invasion. Though Ukraine’s track record is generally positive, the devil is in the details. Difficult reforms, especially in the judiciary, require the attention and support of the EU and its member states.

Ten years ago, the Minsk Agreement was negotiated and signed to end the war in eastern Ukraine. Just 7 years later, Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Diplomat Johannes Regen­brecht was involved in the negoti­a­tions and analyses what lessons can be learned.