Encouraging signals from Brussels regarding a possible start of negotiations by the end of this year are emerging.

Ukraine must exert serious efforts to prepare for this complex and lengthy stage.

You can read more details in the column by analysts from the Ukrainian Center for European Policy, Oleksandra Bulana, and the Executive Director of the NGO Ukrainian Center for European Policy, Liubov Akulenko, Accession without Concessions: Why EU Negotiations Will Be More Complex Than They Seem Now.

In order to prepare for the challenging and protracted negotiation stage, Ukraine needs to strengthen its state institutions and establish a continuous and productive dialogue between government structures, businesses, and civil society.

"Authorities must formulate Ukraine's negotiating position, i.e., assess when Ukrainian society will realistically be ready to implement specific EU acts and accordingly prepare an implementation plan," write Oleksandra Bulana and Liubov Akulenko.

To preserve institutional capacity, it's important, in their view, for primary law drafters to be government officials, not external experts. However, this requires a comprehensive reform of the civil service to allow the attraction and retention of highly professional experts in government agencies, the experts add.

They remind that civil service reform should include a revision of the compensation for civil servants, the development of a clear career advancement system, a new approach to the selection of new employees (who must be proficient in English at a level sufficient for performing work tasks), and a training system for existing professionals.

"This reform should become priority No. 2 after support for the Ukrainian army," assert the representatives of the Ukrainian Center for European Policy.

For them, it's evident that the civil service reform, its strengthening, and preparation for work under EU membership conditions will be one of the main challenges on the path to European integration.

However, successful European integration also requires the active participation of other stakeholders, the column's authors add. At the stage of preparing for negotiations, establishing constant contact between the government and the business sector is very important.

"Business should actively study EU legislation, analyze all possible risks associated with its implementation, express its position to the authorities, and in some cases, actively participate in shaping new legislation. In this context, the least constructive position for business would be to use lobbying to block EU integration legislative initiatives," write Oleksandra Bulana and Liubov Akulenko.

Consequently, to avoid "unpleasant surprises," businesses need to actively engage in forming a position regarding the postponement of the implementation of specific EU acts.

Representatives of the Ukrainian Center for European Policy also remind that the role of civil society in the European integration process remains constant – the defence of democracy. The functioning of democratic institutions is one of the key criteria for EU accession.

"One of the top priorities is involving the public in discussions of European integration legislative initiatives. Civil society organizations often have deep industry expertise in specific sectors crucial for European integration. Therefore, it's important for them to be engaged in discussions and the preparation of legislative initiatives," the experts conclude.