As part of the Eastern Promises project, this roundtable discussion is organised by the European Policy Centre in collaboration with the Open Society Foundations and the International Renaissance Foundation, Ukraine.
When President Yanukovych and his new government took office some nine months ago, promises were made to restore stability, get Ukraine’s economy back on track and continue to give strong focus to Ukraine’s relations with the EU, including concluding an Association Agreement. In June, the government announced an ambitious reform plan for 2010-2014, and a number of important steps have already been made, including the law on public procurement and the law on gas market which helped Ukraine to achieve its goal of joining the EU’s Energy Community.
However, while stability may have been restored, economic reforms have had mixed results and Ukraine’s democratic identity is now being called into question. The Orange Revolution’s main achievements—freedom of speech and media, and freedom of assembly—are reportedly under attack, while recent local elections also brought mixed results.
While President Yanukovych and his team seek legitimacy and recognition on the part of the EU, does the EU help Ukraine to build its democratic identity and what are the key challenges that lie ahead in Ukraine-EU relations?
Panelists
- Oleh Rybachyk, Chairman of the Civil Society Expert Council with the Ukrainian Side of the EU-Ukraine Cooperation Committee
- Pirkka Tapiola, Policy Unit, Council of the EU
- Vasyl Filipchuk, Director General for EU Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
- Veronika Movchan, Civil Society Initiative on Monitoring Implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agenda
Location
Résidence Palace
Max Kohnstamm room, 4th floor
155 rue de la Loi
B-1040 Brussels
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