Although Manfred Stinnes is not an Ukrainian area specialist, in
a recent lecture about the current status of the EU he firmly stated that the
internal struggles taking place in Ukraine prove that they are not ready to
negotiate. Meanwhile, the economic dilemmas facing the EU impede any talk
of integration with a country that has failed to comply with European
standards. In recent visa
facilitation arrangements, representatives of the EU did not support agreements
between Ukraine and the EU. “EU policy towards
Ukraine should be firm and consistent and continue to insist on clear
commitments from the Ukrainian authorities towards democratic values and the
rule of law.” Ukraine has been unable to show that they would be compatible
joining the 27 other western states.
Unmistakably, Ukraine has not been stagnate and has been
promising and reporting repeatedly on progress. Unfortunately the important infrastructure improvements made
in preparation for the Euro soccer tournament in Ukraine this summer did not fulfill
the anticipated aspirations.
Expecting to receive acceptance, Ukraine did not get closer to
negotiations. However, the ruling party, the Party of Regions,
acknowledged the impact of the physical changes with a slogan “Championships
pass – Achievements remain.”
Despite these improvements to roads, airports, and new stadiums, the
ratings for democracy have digressed.
The shadow of corruption, accusations of unfair elections, and an
increase of human rights’ violations have been ever present. Repeatedly
Ukraine is criticized for the lack of transparency, inaccuracy of reports, and
control of public funds. Even with
elections looming it is clear that the priorities for “European” progress are
not succeeding.
Ukraine has fallen guilty of talking the talk but not walking
the walk.
Almost three months ago Yanukovich addressed the need for a new
social policy in Ukraine while speaking to the members of Ukrainian parliament,
the Verkhovna Rada. Remarking that
this development would be “impossible without the introduction of European standards in
legislation on the social sphere”, he promised to move forward and resolve
conflicts within society. But this and other ambiguous speeches have become a classic formula for many
articles that simply extol European values and the aspiration of many
Ukrainians to embrace a more democratic method. Within the same month as Yanukovish’s plea to parliament, a
human rights monitoring group, Freedom-house, published in its report that
Ukraine has had a “persistent decline in democratic principles and human
rights” and downgraded the status of Ukraine from ‘Free’ to ‘Partly Free’ as of
this year.
The EU has made it clear that Ukraine will not be accepted until
it moves closer to democracy, not farther. Therefore, if there is really “no chance”, as Mr. Stinnes
remarked recently, for Ukrainian integration into the European Union why is
there an almost daily discussion among the media about the potential progress
and negotiations to move westward?
In Ukraine, unfortunately, the real issues are ignored and
change is avoided; instead hollow and insincere articles are constantly
published to distract from the impasse of maturation. There is a dearth of movement or plans to assimilate. If European Union integration is consistently
mentioned it is assumed that it is a priority. But little is done to convince people to get on board and be
willing to make sacrifices to enable Ukrainian integration. A more democratic, transparent, and
humane Ukraine could be achieved without attachments and dependence to the EU if society and government sincerely desired to end corruption and
inequality. This desire should
start internally and be a unifying movement in society.
References
Stinnes,
Manfred. “The European Union: Fourth Year of a Crisis, or Birth Pangs of a
New Historical Period?” University of Kansas, Public Lecture.
Lawrence, KS. 13 Sep. 2012.
Державні витрати в Україні закриті для зовнішнього контролю – Світовий банк
(Government spending in Ukraine closed to external control – World bank)
(Government spending in Ukraine closed to external control – World bank)
Президент виключив євроінтеграцію України за рахунок обмеження суверенітету
(President ruled out Euro-integration of Ukraine on grounds of limitations of sovereignty)
(President ruled out Euro-integration of Ukraine on grounds of limitations of sovereignty)
“Komorowski: Euro is Ukraine's step closer to EU”
“German MEP opposes visa liberalisation with Ukraine”
“German MEP opposes visa liberalisation with Ukraine”
“Yanukovych: Political speculation on language, culture,
history, religion hamper national consolidation”
“New Report: Democratic Decline Persists in Ukraine”
Nice post and you bring up a central dilemma of the Ukrainian leadership (i.e. why move toward western political and social principles, when it appears that Europe is headed toward possible economic collapse?). I imagine that for the current Ukrainian leadership (and a significant percentage of the population), the authoritarian, top-down model advocated by Russia and China might be a more appealing example to follow. Indeed, there are some Americans who are beginning to advocate a less democratic approach to governance to break the log-jam in Washington.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I attended this lecture last week and was really taken aback by his abruptness. So, it brought out some different questions. I still have to study it out fully, but I believe the EU topic has become a curtain to hide behind the real issues that are affecting Ukraine.
ReplyDelete