Highlight 2/2024 – The Ukraine-EU membership talks from a governance perspective
Koulouar Kinga Nadege, 8 January 2024
Though every European Union (EU) member state has its own traditions and culture, they are united on common values that are to be promoted, protected and respected in order to belong to the Union. The EU core values include respect for human dignity and human rights, freedom, democracy, equality and rule of law. How ready is Ukraine to promote, protect and uphold EU core values within its borders and worldwide? Could the start of Ukraine-EU membership talks, without stressing on the importance of EU values, weaken EU as major actor of international relations?
It is worth nothing that though there is no single definition of values in the literature, several definitions do exist.
According to Feather (1996), values are beliefs about undesirable or desirable ways of behaving…or if not general goals (P.222). For Schwartz (1994), values are desirable transsituational goals… that serve as guiding precepts (P. 21). Rokeach (1973) argued that a value is an enduring belief that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is socially or personally preferable (P.5). And, Kluckhohn (1951) argued that a value is a conception… of the desirable (P. 395). From those definitions, values are convictions, attitudes, and behaviours that contribute to the formation of identity and character. People, legal entities and organisations such as the EU are able to orient their activities around core values.
Ukraine-EU membership talks should be organised around the European Union Community acquis; however, more importantly, talks should be organised around the readiness of the country to adhere to the EU’s core values. Such an approach would allow the EU to emerge tomorrow as a much stronger global actor than it is today.
Moreover, greater value would certainly be added to EU membership, if a democratic, peaceful and reformed Ukraine is capable of promoting EU values within its borders and worldwide, which is not the case today.
What is the highlight of the current situation, both within Ukraine and in the global arena?
As an international actor, inactions and actions of Ukraine showed some weaknesses regarding the promotion, the respect and the upholding of EU values.
Ukraine recently adopted a national human rights strategy and its actions plan. This is to be welcomed. Additionally, the European Union urged Ukraine to make further progress on reforms in several sectors and a successful resolution of the investigations into Maidan and Odessa. Furthermore, aware of the current challenges of the country, during the EU-Ukraine summit last October, the two actors reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the political and economic integration of Ukraine with the EU. However, the EU has not focused on issues relating to human rights and the rule of law. Moreover, regarding the conflict in Eastern Ukraine, the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine noted and condemned arbitrary detention and torture by the Ukrainian government and non-governmental armed groups throughout this conflict. Furthermore, Ukraine signed the Council of Europe convention on the prevention of violence against women and domestic violence (the Istanbul Convention) in 2011, and has ratified it in June 2022. However, in ratifying this document, the country made reservations concerning the application of article 30, paragraph 2 of the Convention. Finally, after the announcement made by the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in December 2020 that the situation in Ukraine merited action by the ICC, the government took no public action to open a formal investigation.
Within its borders, the European Court of Human Rights found that the current Ukrainian government committed multiple breaches of the European Convention on Human Rights in the course of public order operations during the Maidan protests. Major violations include the right to liberty and security, the right to life as well as the prohibition of torture.
Throughout January 2023, the Ukrainian national police dispersed two demonstrations organised by far-right groups, under the pretext of restrictions linked to Covid-19, while they have allowed other demonstrations to take place without restrictions. Additionally, even though four men have been arrested, members of far-right groups attacked participants in a women ‘s rights march in the capital city.
Threats against human rights anti-corruption activists as well as against environmental activists, online and physical attacks against human defenders, physical attacks and online threats against human rights defenders, anti-corruption activists, environmental activists, and independent journalists were numerous whereas investigations into the incidents were most often ineffective.
Ukraine is operating under state of exception but the Ukrainian Government has shown many weaknesses related to the readiness of Ukraine to help to promote, to respect and to uphold EU values. This should weigh heavily in the consideration of its candidacy for EU membership as adherence to EU values is what has come to define the EU as an organisation and has set it apart as a beacon for human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.
Koulouar Kinga Nadege, Highlight 2/2024 – The Ukraine-EU membership talks from a governance perspective, 8 January 2024, available at www.meig.ch
The views expressed in the MEIG Highlights are personal to the authors and neither reflect the positions of the MEIG Programme nor those of the University of Geneva.