The European Union and the Ukrainian issue

Résumé du document

The rejection of the draft of the European Constitution by France and the Netherlands in 2005 through two negative referendums revealed a fear toward the European Union. That fear can be in part explained by the fact that the European Union failed to define precisely its frontiers. For instance, in France, the opposition to an enlargement to Turkey has been a strong argument. The European Union (EU) is composed of 27 states which are linked by common political institutions and economic and social policies. The issue of its boundaries was less debatable during the Cold War. 'Europe' was assimilated to 'Western Europe', given that the EU aimed to counter the soviet influence. However, the issue of the definition of the EU's Eastern border has been at stake since the Cold War ended. Nowadays, a lot of Central and Oriental European countries which have been freed from the soviet influence or have taken their independence from the USSR share the EU liberal values. Ten of them have entered the EU in 2004 and in 2007. Ukraine which was a component of the USSR and became independent in 1991 is not one of them, despite that Leonid Kuchma, who has been the Ukrainian President from 1994 to 2004, did want Ukraine to enter the EU.

Extraits

[...] However, radical statements are sometimes required when it comes to Europe and democracy. Bibliography ( Taras Kuzio, Is Ukraine part of Europe's future?, in Washington Quarterly, Summer 2006 ( Flemming Splidsboel-Hansen, The EU and Ukraine: rhetorical entrapment?, in European Security, June 2006 ( François Gouyon, L'Ukraine aux limites de l'Europe in Hérodote, n°118, Juillet-Septembre 2005 ( William Wallace, Where does Europe end? Dilemmas of inclusion and exclusion, in Jan Zielonka (edition), Europe Unbound. [...]

[...] For example, Ukraine is far more viewed as a European country in Poland than in the UK. According to Flemming Splidsboel-Hansen, a poll showed that 88% of Poles considered Ukraine as a European country in 2005. The lack of coherence of the communitarian approach as regards the definition of the EU identity, and thus the definition of its frontiers, encourages to focus on the “constitutional patriotism” (Jürgen Habermas). According to this approach, the criteria of entry into the EU should be based on the respect of liberal values. [...]

[...] Above all, Viktor Yushchenko supports the idea that a Ukraine's membership in the EU is legitimate. Even if this last wish remains ignored by the EU, the ambitious diplomacy of Yushchenko and the reformist domestic policies led by the Orange coalition turn the possibility of Ukraine's EU membership into a crucial issue. Should the European Union accept Ukraine's membership? The reasons why the EU refuses the perspective of Ukraine's membership must be criticized If such a refusal is maintained, the consequences for both the EU and Ukraine will be tough (II). [...]

[...] In 2006, the high scores registered by Yanukovych's Party of Regions, opposed to Yushchenko, proved that the elections were unbiased. The 2007 parliamentary elections were won by the Orange block. The new government of Ioulia Tymoshenko (who was one of the leaders of the Orange Revolution) is likely to pursue the impressive reforms public employees have been fired to fight against corruption and numerous privatizations have occurred since the Orange Revolution. All these elements deter the opponents to Ukraine's entry into Europe from insisting on the “constitutional patriotism”. [...]

[...] Hence, Western European governments avoid encouraging Ukraine's entry into the EU. This attitude is all the more cynical, as Ukraine is far more democratic than Russia, and contradicts sharply the EU liberal identity. Conclusion In a nutshell, not only are the possible arguments against Ukraine's accession to the EU biased, but it must also be noted that the current EU refusal to offer Ukraine a perspective of EU membership is likely to weaken the democratic and liberal values in Europe. [...]