The Ukrainian team, which is going to Brussels for the Ukraine-EU summit, faces difficult tasks because, in addition to the global pandemic and economic problems, there is a crisis of confidence in the Ukrainian leadership from international partners. This is noted by the fifth president of Ukraine, Leader of the European Solidarity party, in his article “Poroshenko’s Advice for the Ukraine-EU Summit: How to Correct Mistakes and Restore Trust” on the Yevropeiska Pravda (European Truth) website.
“This crisis has arisen because of the slowdown and even the reverse, which in a year and a half gave the new government in the implementation of pro-European reforms. Pro-Western managers are methodically purged from the authorities. Competitive principles in the civil service have been destroyed. On the other hand, they actively appoint their own ‘Kvartal members,’ showmen, or recruit outspoken or latent pro-Russian personnel from Yanukovych’s team. This scale of anti-Western rhetoric, as now, has not been in the Ukrainian media since 2013. The pressure is growing on the courts, law enforcement agencies, and free media. The president’s office literally smashed the anti-corruption structure that we have formed with great difficulty over several years in cooperation with our partners. It got to the first soft warnings about possible problems with visa-free travel, “Poroshenko said.
According to him, the inertia of Ukraine’s movement in the EU, started by his team, is being exhausted. “And in our situation, to stop and stand still means to expose oneself to the risk of a rollback back into the sphere of Russian influence,” the politician said.
He advises Zelensky to do everything in Brussels to build trust with EU leaders. The EU is not an “external manager” but our future home. The EU is really not an ATM, but principles,” Poroshenko said.
The leader of European Solidarity believes that the Ukrainian delegation should present to the allies its strategy to establish peace in Donbas and de-occupy Crimea and coordinate ways to increase political and sanctions pressure on Russia. “There is no other option but to return to the roadmap of the Minsk agreements and to the issue of UN blue helmets in the occupied part of Donbas,” the politician said.
Poroshenko also noted the need to implement the idea of sectoral alliances with the EU. “First, in such sectors as a single digital market, energy integration, trade and customs cooperation, as well as, of course, the association with the Schengen area. I strongly support the idea of Ukraine joining the European Green Deal,” the leader of European Solidarity said.
According to him, the summit is a good opportunity to assure Ukraine’s European partners of the invariability of the government’s policy regarding democratic transformations, strengthening institutions and civil service, respect for human rights and the independence of the judiciary, anti-corruption agencies, ensuring freedom of the media, independence of the NBU, the stability of the banking sector, effective corporate governance and sectoral reforms in general.
The politician also said that it is necessary to coordinate positions on the settlement of the political crisis in Belarus and the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.
