Ukraine-EU Relationship : Is Ukraine ready for Europe?

Résumé du document

Ukraine faced a hard time in its orientation in the west and also in Europe. Since its independence from the Soviet Regime in 1991, the process of democratization and establishing a market economy stalled, under the semi-authoritarian and the corrupt President Kuchma. It lasted more than a decade until the pro-reformist candidate Yushchenko came to power after having lost a first presidential election that was riddled with fraud. The reformist Orange Revolution sparked peaceful street demonstrations by hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians in favor of Yushchenko, finally leading to a second election that he won. Europe and the western society were quite impressed by the will of the Ukrainian people to resist on holding fair elections and on striving for its civil rights.

Extraits

[...] According to his view, people-to-people contacts, like educational exchanges are very important for Ukrainians on order to get a feeling for Europe. Furthermore, visa facilitations are an important issue for the people of Ukraine, therefore soon agreements are tried to achieve, also in order to show the EU's willingness to do something for the Ukrainian people and to show the advantages of a free and open Europe (www.delukr.cec.eu.int). In summing up this section on can state that the election of President Yushchenko brought fresh wind into the EU-Ukraine relationship with a connected hope for the implementation of the necessary reforms, which bring the country closer to become a member of the NATO, the WTO and the EU, thereby laying the fundament for economic growth and wealth in Ukraine. [...]

[...] The EU's Relations with Ukraine General Facts and Framework. EU & Ukraine. Retrieved March from http://www.delukr.cec.eu.int/site/page36480.html The European Commission's Delegation (2006). Agreements between Ukraine and the EU. EU & Ukraine. Retrieved March from http://www.delukr.cec.eu.int/site/page2803.html The European Commission's Delegation (2006). Ukraine-EU: Chronology of Bilateral Relations. Retrieved March from http://www.delukr.cec.eu.int/site/page4824.html The European Commission's Delegation (2006). Ukraine-EU: Bilateral Trade Relations. Retrieved March from http://www.delukr.cec.eu.int/site/page36088.html The European Commission's Delegation (2005). [...]

[...] And as this example shows, a further danger is connected with the process, if it is does not develop that successfully and quickly as wished. People become concerned about the situation and even wish sometimes the old times back. As the people are the key to establish an effective and stable democracy as well in Ukraine, this threat has to be kept also in mind. Appendix Figure 1 Ukraine Revolution Source: www.orange-revolution.com/ news.html Figure 2 Ukraine Today Source: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/up.html Figure Ukraine in World War II Source: http://sumy.net.ua/History/map/19!.php References CIA. (2006). Ukraine. The World Factbook. Retrieved March from http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/up.html#Intro Kuzio, T. and Moroney, J. [...]

[...] In addition further analysis is necessary upon the election fraud and the killing of journalist Georgy Gongadze. The investigation of these issues is a very important task for the Ukraine authorities and closely monitored by the EU, since the resolution of these infringements signifies a requirement for Ukraine to commit to the western society. Since this process is ongoing only very sluggish the EU issued a sharp reprimand to Ukraine, especially for failing to bring the high- ranking officials from the Kuchma regime to justice. [...]

[...] (2005). The Challenge of Ukraine's European Integration. United Press International. Retrieved March from http://www.rand.org/commentary/121305UPI.html Solovey, I. (2000). Ukrainian History: Chronological Table. Retrieved March from http://ukraine.uazone.net/history.html The European Commission's Delegation (2006). The EU's relations with Ukraine- Present State and Future Prospects. EU & Ukraine. Retrieved March from http://www.delukr.cec.eu.int/site/page36474.html The European Commission's Delegation (2006). [...]