Ukraine’s Desire for Rapid European Union Membership Faces Challenges

What Happened?

During the last round of negotiations with Russia, which just concluded in Geneva, Ukrainian officials made clear their desire for Ukraine to become a member of the European Union (EU) as quickly as possible.

Normal membership in the EU takes years to attain and requires applicants to demonstrate compliance with rigorous economic and governance standards. While EU officials have expressed interest in Ukrainian membership, they have not indicated they are willing to waive any of the requirements for admission. 

Several proposals have been put forward by the EU, including a phased approach, which could allow Ukraine to meet membership requirements more gradually than what is usually required. But most EU nations have said they want all new members to meet the same standards they did.

Why it Matters

Ukrainian economic integration into the EU is what triggered the current war between Russia and Ukraine. In 2013, Ukraine and the EU had agreed to create a new economic partnership that would have paved the way for Ukraine to eventually become a full-fledged member of the EU.

Then Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych cancelled the deal at the last minute on orders from Moscow, and that angered most of the Ukrainian population.

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Popular anger ignited widespread protests across Ukraine in 2013, which caused Yanukovych to flee to Moscow, and when Ukraine chose a new President to replace him, Russia called the government illegal and encouraged separatists in the east to revolt. Russia then provided separatist groups in eastern Ukraine with cash and arms, while continuing an aggressive propaganda campaign claiming (falsely) that Yanukovych had been driven from power by the United States.

When separatist groups in eastern Ukraine claimed independence, Ukrainian military forces attempted to defeat them, which triggered heavy fighting in the easternmost portions of Ukraine. Because that area contains significant amounts of heavy industry, both Russia and Ukraine wanted to control it.

The fighting between separatist groups and Ukraine’s military continued until 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, hoping to conquer all Ukrainian land, not just the easternmost portions. The pretext for the invasion was to end the conflict between pro-Russian and Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine, even though Russia had started that war itself.

In 2013, Ukrainians were angered by the cancellation of the EU trade deal because the new agreement would have allowed Ukrainians to work and travel in the EU without a visa. Obtaining a visa was often a slow and difficult process, making working in the EU impossible, but with the deal, Ukrainians could have worked and lived in the EU indefinitely. That is exactly what Moscow did not want, which is why Mr. Putin ordered Yanukovych to cancel the EU trade deal. 

How it Affects You

While Russia had legitimate economic interests in Ukraine, it also ran a widespread network of corruption which funneled money to Moscow and kept ethnic Russians in key positions of power while excluding Ukrainians.

This meant that Ukraine would typically do Moscow’s bidding. Ukraine’s desire to reject Russian authority while joining the EU was treated as an act of war by Moscow, a war that is still ongoing in Ukraine. 

Ukrainians have made it clear they want to be more like the EU in the future, but the path forward will be difficult. Ukraine has its own corruption problems in addition to the ongoing Russian invasion. Meeting EU standards under the current conditions will be difficult, but the EU has been reluctant to change its admission policies just for Ukraine. 

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