{"id":58151,"date":"2023-09-27T22:48:31","date_gmt":"2023-09-27T20:48:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/libmod.de\/democracy-and-its-enemies-how-not-to-lose-the-battle-copy\/"},"modified":"2023-10-10T14:33:12","modified_gmt":"2023-10-10T12:33:12","slug":"moving-towards-eu-membership-reforms-in-ukraine-and-the-eu-as-a-prerequisite-for-deeper-integration-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/libmod.de\/en\/moving-towards-eu-membership-reforms-in-ukraine-and-the-eu-as-a-prerequisite-for-deeper-integration-review\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cMoving Towards EU Membership \u2013 Reforms in Ukraine and the EU as a Prereq\u00aduisite for Deeper Integration\u201d \u2013 Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Fotos: Tobias Kunz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=\u201d.vc_custom_1508251598805{margin-top: 30px !important;}\u201d][vc_column width=\u201c2\/3\u201d css=\u201d.vc_custom_1508252250311{padding-right: 20px !important;}\u201d][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

One year after Ukraine was granted EU candidate status, we invited high-ranking repre\u00adsen\u00adta\u00adtives of the EU and Germany as well as experts from leading European think tanks to take stock of devel\u00adop\u00adments so far. The discussion in Berlin on 18\/\u200b19 September also looked at the prospects for 2024 and tried to identify necessary reforms.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

<\/h2>\n

The expert event, which took place on 18\u201319 September 2023 and was hosted by the Center for Liberal Modernity in cooper\u00adation with the Bertelsmann Stiftung, analyzed devel\u00adop\u00adments in EU-Ukraine relations since Ukraine attained the EU accession country status in June 2022 and discussed the possible trajec\u00adtories for the future.<\/p>\n

It was the second joined event of the Center for Liberal Modernity and the Bertelsmann Stiftung of this kind. The previous expert discussion took place in September 2022.<\/p>\n

Repre\u00adsen\u00adta\u00adtives of the European Commission, the European External Action Service and the Federal Foreign Office, as well as experts from Ukraine, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, the Nether\u00adlands, Belgium, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, France, Sweden and Finland discussed reforms in Ukraine to meet EU criteria and standards, EU policy and its efforts to enhance capacity and reform accession proce\u00addures, Ukraine\u2019s European integration during the ongoing Russian war of aggression, and Ukraine\u2019s resilience and reconstruction.<\/p>\n

The event kicked off with a keynote speech by Matthias L\u00fcttenberg (Commis\u00adsioner for Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia at the Federal Foreign Office) and intensive discus\u00adsions during the Welcome Dinner on 18 September.<\/p>\n

Ralf F\u00fccks (Director of the Center for Liberal Modernity) and Stephan Vopel (Director of the Bertelsmann Stiftung Berlin and Program Manager \u201cEurope\u2019s Future\u201d) opened the discussion moderated by Iryna Solonenko (Head of the Center for Liberal Modernity\u2019s Ukraine Program) on 19 September.<\/p>\n

Miriam Kosmehl (Bertelsmann Stiftung), Iryna Solonenko (Center for Liberal Modernity), Susan Stewart (German Institute for Inter\u00adna\u00adtional and Security Affairs), Piotr Buras (Head of the Warsaw Office of the European Council on Foreign Relations) and Snizhana Diachenko (Expert from the Ukrainian Centre for European Policy) presented the input paper for the conference: \u201cUkraine and the EU: How to Keep up Accession Momentum\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201eUkraine and the EU: How to Keep up Accession Momentum\u201d<\/h3>\n

The input paper covered the following topics: the state of alignment of Ukraine with the EU acquis, rule of law reform and admin\u00adis\u00adtrative capacity in Ukraine, the optimal modus operandi for EU-Ukraine relations, and the necessary prepa\u00adra\u00adtions of the EU for enlargement.<\/p>\n

Georg Ziegler (Advisor to the Acting Director of the Ukraine Service of the European Commission), Dirk Schuebel (Special Envoy for the Eastern Partnership of the European External Action Service) and Jean P. Froehly (Head of the URC24 Task Force at the German Foreign Office) presented their comments on the paper and views of their insti\u00adtu\u00adtions, before the discussion was opened to all other participants.<\/p>\n

One of the central themes was weak and uncertain security environment as long as the war continues, which hinders capacity to reform and economic devel\u00adopment of Ukraine (including attracting foreign investors). The experts also discussed the possi\u00adbil\u00adities for Ukraine to gradually integrate with the EU\u2019s Single Market before joining the EU as a full-fledged member.There was a consensus among experts that internal reforms in the EU should not undermine its enlargement potential and that both processes can take place simultaneously.<\/p>\n

\u201cUkraine\u2019s Readiness to Meet the Economic Criteria for EU-Membership in the Context of EU-CEE and the Western Balkans\u201c<\/h3>\n

The second part of the event was dedicated to economic aspects. Olha Pindyuk from the Vienna Institute for Inter\u00adna\u00adtional Economic Studies (wiiw) presented the study \u201cUkraine\u2019s Readiness to Meet the Economic Criteria for EU-Membership in the Context of EU-CEE and the Western Balkans\u201d prepared by the Bertelsmann Stiftung and wiiw. The subse\u00adquent discussion also touched upon the question of how and to what extent Ukraine\u2019s recovery and recon\u00adstruction can be linked to its  European integration.<\/p>\n

What next?<\/h3>\n

The issue of uncer\u00adtainty was one of the central themes of the discussion. The dynamics of the war and, related to this, the security situation will inevitably have an impact on Ukraine\u2019s European integration and the EU. Also, later in October the European Commission will present the enlargement package, where Ukraine\u2019s progress will be assessed and, depending on this, the EU will either recommend opening the accession talks with Ukraine or not. The positive decision would elevate EU-Ukraine relations to a new level and bring Ukraine closer to the future EU membership.<\/p>\n

The Center for Liberal Modernity and the Bertelsmann Stiftung will continue to follow devel\u00adop\u00adments in EU-Ukraine relations and contribute with expertise and policy advice. The Input Paper will be published in October. A similar expert event is already planned for September 2024, in order to take stock of EU-Ukraine relations one year later.[\/vc_column_text][vc_gallery interval=\u201c3\u201d images=\u201c58155,58157,58159,58161,58163,58167,58169,58171,58173,58175,58177,58179,58187,58189,58191,58193,58195,58197,58199,58201,58203,58209,58211\u201d img_size=\u201cfull\u201d][vc_column_text]\"Textende\"[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_column_text]Did you like thike this article? If yes, you can support the independent editorial work and journalism of LibMod via a simple donation tool.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]