“The best response to manipulation against Ukraine’s accession is the high-quality and irreversible implementation of reforms.”

In mid-June, Ukraine and the European Union officially opened the first negotiating cluster “Fundamentals”. The milestone has already been described as historic, but what does it mean in practice?

What is happening with reforms in Ukraine? Why is it important to open the remaining five EU accession clusters? Who was and may still be  hiding behind Hungary, which blocked and appears set to continue blocking Ukraine’s accession process? Is the proposal for “associated membership” a trap or, conversely, an attempt to find a faster path to the EU?

Sergiy Solodkyy, Director of the New Europe Center, discussed these issues in an interview with RFI Ukrainian with Denys Syhai.

“The opening of the first cluster takes away the old excuse from Ukrainian politicians that there is no point in rushing reforms if the EU is not reciprocating. There should no longer be any such excuses”, Sergiy Solodkyy stressed.

According to him, the “Fundamentals” cluster is crucial because it covers issues that are fundamental to the EU: the rule of law, the fight against corruption, human rights protection, the transparency of state institutions, and democratic development more broadly. That is why this cluster is opened first and closed last.

In the interview, Sergiy Solodkyy warned that the closer Ukraine gets to EU membership, the louder the voices of opponents of enlargement may become. He noted that in at least ten EU member states, there is no stable majority supporting Ukraine’s accession.

“The best response to manipulation against Ukraine’s accession is the high-quality and irreversible implementation of reforms”, the Director of the New Europe Center emphasized.

According to Sergiy Solodkyy, the next major expected milestone on Ukraine’s European integration path is the decision to open the remaining five clusters, which was scheduled for July. However, he considers the European Commission’s autumn report on reform implementation to be no less important.

“If Ukraine demonstrates a rapid leap forward in implementing the reforms it is responsible for, this will serve as a strong argument capable of undermining the speculations used by populists in EU countries to prevent Ukraine and other candidate countries from ever becoming members”, Solodkyy concluded.

As the expert emphasized, accusations of insufficient reforms and weak anti-corruption efforts are the first arguments raised in virtually every debate against enlargement. And the best response is the high-quality and irreversible implementation of reforms.

Full text (in Ukrainian): https://rfi.my/Cq5W