The path to EU membership. How Ukrainians abroad can determine the future of the state

The coming weeks and months must be decisive for the fate and future of Ukraine, determining their development for many generations to come.

And it's not just about armed resistance to the aggressor. Yes, winning the war and liberating the occupied territories is the task right now. This will happen - there is no doubt in the strength of our Armed Forces, which already have the support of Alliance partners.

But for the sustainability of victory and rapid post-war recovery, Ukraine must also leap in the economy, investment and reforms. We need Western businesses to be interested in investing in Ukraine's reconstruction. Western donors (who are ready to provide us with aid and assistance) should understand that their money will not go to waste but will ensure the democratic development of our state.

There is one key condition for this: to start Ukraine's move to join the EU.

The technical process has begun. But its political approval is needed, yet. And now we need to help get it. It is in our power. There will be practical tips at the end of this text.

But first - very briefly about what is happening.

Success seems to augur

We have already described earlier that while repelling the attacks of the Russian aggressor, Ukraine opened a window to the European Union. It now has become a reality: while previously considered hypothetical, which few believed at all, what Ukraine had been denied in Brussels year after year.

One by one, EU leaders began to speak of the European perspective for Ukraine. And this is the first step on the path to membership. These statements are not yet official recognition (this requires a decision of the EU summit), but today no time for the formalities. This is why, on March 1, Kyiv made its application to join the EU without waiting for the completion of official procedures.

The first (albeit technical) victory came almost immediately: the ambassadors of the EU member states did not wait either and sent the Ukrainian application to the European Commission, which must now assess Ukraine's readiness. They did the same with the applications by Moldova and Georgia, which decided to jump on the train with us (the EP has an article about what is hidden behind this).

Why did even professional European bureaucrats decide to abandon the usual procedures?

Because society demands they do so.

The capitals just could not answer "no" to the Ukrainian application at a time of mass demonstrations in support of Ukraine taking place every weekend in literally all European capitals; when all the newspapers write and TV channels talk about the courage of the Ukrainian people; when everyone knows that Ukraine is fighting for its European future - 

However, it remains unclear how they will phrase their "yes" and when it will happen.

What do we expect from the EU?

We have already written, but we will put it again: the public appeals of Ukrainian (and some Western) leaders that Ukraine should be granted EU membership "tomorrow" will not be fulfilled, no doubt. We must be aware of this and not be looking for "betrayal" just because it hasn't happened. These statements are purely psychological and aim at raising stakes; there is no doubt that Ukrainian diplomats also understand this.

Instead, the real (albeit difficult) task is for Ukraine to obtain candidate status, leading to EU accession negotiations, chapter by chapter, with appropriate funding for reforms.

And the super-task - ambitious but still real - is to adopt a special accelerated procedure for these negotiations, which will allow Ukraine to catch up and overtake the Balkan states, one of which, post-war Croatia, has already become a member of the European Union.

But this decision has not been made yet. Several political discussions are ahead.

The first such meeting will start on March 10 - on Thursday evening, the leaders will gather in Versailles for an extraordinary informal EU summit. The French royal palace was chosen for this meeting because France holds the EU presidency in the first half of 2022. Further, we will address the role of France.

It is unclear what the leaders will say at the meeting, but, likely, Ukraine's membership will not be mentioned either in a positive or in a negative sense. Western countries lack an understanding of the course of the war. They have not realized the changes. They have also not yet received a response from the European Commission to their request for an assessment. And this gives sufficient grounds to postpone the decision.

The real reason is different. No surprise, this is Germany again.

This is the peculiarity of this country, which is now headed by the Chancellor of the Social Democratic Party, whose leadership also includes members of the team of the "legendary" pro-Putin Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

A number of sources confirmed that it is the German position being the obstacle to a green signal for Ukraine. There are others who doubt, but they signal that they will give in as soon as Berlin gives its approval - and this has not happened yet. This is the reason for the extremely harsh and undiplomatic statements from the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry and President's Office, which appeared in the German media today.

Although unlikely, it might happen that we will hear a positive signal this week. The condition for this is the decisive position of Emmanuel Macron and his desire to remain in history as a result of the French presidency in the EU. It is unclear at this time whether his aspiration is honest, if any.

But we still have time. The next summit, when the EU is likely to find it easier to make a decision, will take place on March 24-25. Next - a meeting in June. And then the presidency of our friends from the Czech Republic begins, who will not lack determination.

However, it is critical to move as far as possible in the spring. And that's why.

How can Ukraine be helped?

We have already mentioned what made the EU leaders forget about the procedures, making statements about Ukraine's European perspective that Kyiv has asked for and demanded from them for more than a decade.

This reason is the pressure of the street.

This is how democracy works in the West. Politicians and "old-school diplomats" may seek dialogue, silence, peace with Russia. But once their voters demand, action must be taken. This has worked many times in recent weeks when Ukraine has heard a clear "no" from Western capitals about harsh sanctions pressure, but in a day's time this "no" has changed to "possible" and then turned into decisions.

This is how SWIFT was blocked, this is how Germany started supplying weapons to Ukraine, thus signalling to everyone else that the flow of weapons to Ukraine must be uninterrupted.

After more than 100,000 people took to the streets of Berlin demanding to punish Russia for its attack on Ukraine, these and other recent decisions became inevitable. Let Berlin and other capitals do it against their will - it doesn't matter. For us, the main thing is the result.

And that gives us a window of opportunity right now. When our EU membership is at stake.

The best way to convince EU leaders that Ukraine needs to rebuild and join the European family as soon as possible is to show them that it is the will of their constituencies.

And we can do it.

The Ukrainian diaspora used to be large and cohesive in European countries (including Germany and France), but now that hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees have arrived in the EU, there are even more of us there. Many have relatives, friends who have lived there for a long time and have a got lot of local friends. Even those arriving after the invasion had already befriended people who provided them shelter.

Write, call them. Persuade them to go to a march in front of their government demanding EU membership for Ukraine. Make sure that every European politician sees this demand - on banners in windows, on banners at protesters, on TV channels and in newspaper columns.

Now, in the spring, it's the easiest time to do this.

The fact is that the tragic events in Ukraine, the atrocities of the Russians, the murder of innocent people in cities and villages - all this now hurts ordinary Europeans. At the same time, each of them heard that Putin attacked Ukraine precisely to disrupt its path to Europe. And also, everyone knows about the heroism of the Ukrainian nation.

Today, empathy is the highest. Ukraine has got millions of sincere sympathizers in the EU, whose support guarantees Ukraine an accelerated movement towards membership if it is used skillfully. We can and should do it together.

The path to EU membership is in the hands of each of us.

Sergiy Sydorenko,

Editor of the European PRavda