Speech by Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner on the EU and Ukraine: What lies beyond the horizon?

Summary: April 26, 2005: Speech by Dr. Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, on The EU and Ukraine - what lies beyond the horizon at Mardi de L'Europe luncheon (Madariaga European Foundation and EastWest Institute)(Brussels)

The EU and Ukraine - what lies beyond the horizon?

Dr Hudak,

Mr Georis,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me first thank the Madariaga European Foundation and the EastWest Institute for inviting me to address you today.

Jeremy Rifkin wrote that the "European Dream is a beacon of light in a troubled world. It beckons us to an age of inclusivity, diversity, quality of life, deep play, sustainability, universal human rights, the rights of nature and peace on Earth". I am a firm believer in that European Dream, and in the potential we have for promoting democracy, freedom and justice throughout the world, and particularly in our neighbourhood.

What does that mean for our relations with Ukraine? As President Yushchenko said, "The world has seen that Ukraine can already be called European." I sincerely hope that our values, those at the very core of the European Dream, will indeed take root in Ukraine. Whatever lies beyond the horizon, I believe it is my task, and that of the EU as a whole, to promote them.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Relations between the EU and Ukraine stagnated over the past decade. Rather than talking to each other, we talked past each other. To Ukrainian ears my fellow EU foreign ministers and I must have sounded like broken records, repeating the mantra of reform. To us, official Ukraine's rhetoric about moving closer to the EU sounded decidedly hollow. Frustration set in.

Today, the difference is striking. We find ourselves developing a qualitatively superior relationship, and anticipating Ukraine being one of the EU's key partners. In marked contrast to the past, when I go to Kiev now, I have stimulating and encouraging discussions.

So what is behind this fundamental shift in our relations?

Most obviously, it's the recent change of government. The new government prioritises the rule of law, freedom, and justice. Now, when we talk about the importance of reform, our arguments no longer fall on deaf ears. The people sitting at the table with us genuinely agree that reform is essential for Ukraine's future success. Under President Yushchenko Ukraine has a real chance for a more democratic and more prosperous future.

But we should never forget that the real heroes of the "Orange Revolution" were the Ukrainian people. Hundreds of thousands of ordinary people from across Ukraine took to the streets in defence of democracy, in scenes reminiscent of their western neighbours in the 1980s. I pay tribute to their steely determination and resilience in the face of sub-zero temperatures and rumours of soldiers and tanks.

However, we practitioners of international politics know that major changes in the political cosmos are invariably due to a coincidence of factors. In this case, an important factor was the European Union and its new initiative, the European Neighbourhood Policy.

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Let me explain.

In recent years the European Union has sought to play a greater political role on the global stage - commensurate with our position as the world's largest integrated market and biggest economy. We know that we need new ideas and creative responses to deal with the challenges of today's globalised world.

To date, our greatest foreign policy success has been enlargement. We leveraged the EU's attractive power to promote sustainable political and economic reform in 10 countries - a triumph for soft power.

Having been so successful in overcoming 60 years of division in Europe, we were determined not to create a new set of dividing lines. We also drew useful conclusions from the enlargement process for projecting the area of stability, prosperity and security beyond our shores.

These two factors - the need for a more creative foreign policy approach and EU enlargement - culminated in the creation of a new tool, the European Neighbourhood Policy.

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The European Neighbourhood policy is based on mutual interest and shared values. If the EU's principal foreign policy objective is to promote stability, security, and prosperity globally, that is all the more true in our immediate neighbourhood.

We want to create a space where our fundamental values hold sway. Our rationale will please both the Immanuel Kants' and the Thomas Hobbes' amongst you. We believe democracy, the rule of law, good governance and human rights are inherently valuable and universally desirable - one has only to look at the so-called rose, orange, cedar and tulip revolutions. But we also believe that respect for those principles is essential for sustainable human and economic development, and thus for security and political stability.

So we offer our eastern and southern neighbours who share this vision a mutually beneficial deal. In return for their taking meaningful steps to strengthen the rule of law, good governance, human rights, democracy, and economic reform, we offer new opportunities to share in the EU's Single Market, closer co-operation on energy and transport links, and a chance to participate in EU programmes.

We firmly believe that, in Gandhi's words, "the spirit of democracy cannot be imposed from without. It has to come from within". But just as we leveraged the EU's magnetic power to promote reforms in the enlargement countries, ENP aims to encourage the spirit of democracy by providing our partners with incentives to reform.

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Ladies and Gentlemen,

I believe that the EU's Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) played a significant role in the outcome of the Orange Revolution. Throughout the crisis, the EU showed exemplary coordination and coherence, and our message was clear - we wanted to offer Ukraine a closer relationship, but we could only do that if Ukraine shared our fundamental values. We needed Ukraine to demonstrate its respect for the rule of law and democratic principles.

To make it plain, we formally adopted the draft ENP Action Plan, but put its implementation on ice until the political situation was satisfactorily resolved. Yet we lost no opportunity to spell out the incentives on offer and to stress that we were ready to begin implementation as soon as possible.

That was the basis on which Presidents Kwasniewski and Adamkus and High Representative Solana negotiated. It was the ENP's first test as the EU's new political tool, and it passed with flying colours.

Had we not made good on our promises, the success would have been short lived. But we did - we immediately drew up a 10 point plan, offering to push the Action Plan to the limit - something that has not been done for any other country. We included elements like supporting Ukraine's WTO accession, increased European Investment Bank funding, and visa facilitation. Shortly afterwards we called an extraordinary EU-Ukraine Cooperation Council to unfreeze the Action Plan and start implementing it. We continued to make clear that democracy and the rule of law must be consolidated, but we recognised the government's desire to move quickly towards closer relations.

The ENP proved itself as a highly effective foreign policy tool which supports our long term goal of greater assertiveness and effectiveness on the global stage. I do not believe that "the EU contributed to the revolution simply by its attractiveness as a club that so many want to join", as Mr Timothy Garton Ash has recently claimed. That would relegate us to a purely passive role and my point is that those days are gone.

But we know that the ENP will only continue to work as an incentive for reform if we keep our side of the bargain. So we have been hard at work.

I myself have visited Ukraine three times this year already, and my staff have met their Ukrainian counterparts frequently to discuss progress.

Visa facilitation is a key priority. I believe that it will send a strong signal to Ukraine's people. I want to see an end to the frustrating, time-consuming, and expensive processes that make it so difficult for Ukrainians to visit us. We have already held several meetings with Ukraine to prepare the mandate for negotiating visa facilitation, and I hope the member states will also act quickly. This way we show that we really do see Ukrainians as our close partners and friends.

We also know the importance Ukraine attaches to Market Economy Status. We have recently given the government a precise list of our outstanding issues, and the actions required to address them. Once these are fulfilled Market Economy Status will follow.

We have made progress on other issues, for example the EU-Ukraine Free Trade Area, where we are launching the promised feasibility study. We are also pushing forward our cooperation in the energy sector, and I am very pleased that my colleague, Commissioner Piebalgs, is going to Ukraine tomorrow to help push the high-level energy dialogue forward.

Another important area is joint cooperation in tackling the Transnistrian conflict. The EU very much welcomes Ukraine's commitment to facilitate a solution. This is a perfect illustration of how, through intensifying our cooperation, we can make our common region more secure and more stable. I hope it will be a prototype for using the Neighbourhood Policy to tackle the region's remaining conflicts, thus creating a more secure neighbourhood for us all.

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Ladies and Gentlemen,

The title of this discussion is "what lies beyond the horizon". Of course the question on everyone's lips is whether Ukraine will one day join the EU. The ENP by no means prejudges this question - for Ukraine or any other country. It is simply not designed to do so. But let me give you my thoughts.

On the one hand, Ukraine's leadership today is clearly committed to reform and shares our fundamental values, so perhaps what was unthinkable only a few months ago may now seem more realistic. But on the other hand, as President Yushchenko himself acknowledges, Ukraine has a great deal of work to do to consolidate its democratic and economic transitions, both of which are necessary before EU membership becomes an option. Such transitions do not take place overnight, and it would be irresponsible for the EU's leaders - to our own citizens, but also to Ukraine's - to pretend otherwise.

My own feeling is that membership distracts us from the real issue. Reform in Ukraine is now an urgent matter - necessary for membership, yes, but above all necessary for the welfare of Ukrainians. I believe we should expend our energies on supporting the reform process, not on idle speculation - and I believe the Ukrainian people agree. There are wounds to heal in Ukraine, and that will take time and effort. For now, even if our final destination has not been spelt out, the door is not shut and the general direction is clear - we want closer cooperation with Ukraine.

To conclude, let me emphasise once more the EU's commitment to Ukraine, to supporting its economic reform and anchoring it in the current spirit of democracy. I know the Ukrainian government is sincere in its commitment to us, so I am confident that we will have concrete progress to report by the time of our Summit in October.

There is much hard work to be done between then and now, and the lion's share of it is for Ukraine. There are some fundamental issues which must be tackled, and a national consensus between East and West must be re-built.

But I am confident that Ukraine's government and people will rise to the challenge. The courage displayed by President Yushchenko, which moved me deeply when I met him last Autumn when he was in Vienna for treatment, and by the Ukrainian people as they stood up for their democratic rights, was deeply impressive. A people which finds the resources of energy necessary for such a show of determination is surely a people with the requisite resilience and perseverance to succeed in this task.

What lies beyond the horizon? I cannot say today. But we should be proud to have Ukraine as our close partners.

Ref: SP05-255EN
EU source: European Commission
UN forum:
Date: 26/4/2005

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