User:MintyByte/Accession of Ukraine to the European Union



Ukraine is on the current agenda for future enlargement of the European Union (EU). Obtaining the status of a full member of the EU as a strategic goal of Ukraine was first declared by President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko immediately after his election in early 2005. In 2013, after President Viktor Yanukovych suspended the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement in favor of closer economic ties with Russia, mass protests and demonstrations known as the Pro EU Euromaidan erupted, escalating into the Revolution of Dignity that led to the overthrow of Yanukovych and the establishment of a new government. Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, there were additional calls to start a formal accession process. Ukraine reiterated its desire to become a member of the union, and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen stated that Ukraine belongs in the European Union. On 28 February, Ukraine officially submitted a letter of application for membership. Due to the ongoing crisis, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy requested immediate admission to the European Union under a special procedure. On 1 March 2022, the European Parliament, following a debate in which the President of Ukraine addressed and received applause, recommended that Ukraine be made an official "candidate" for EU membership. The European Parliament has voted to advance Ukraine's membership with 637 voted for, with 13 voted against, and 26 abstained. On 2 March, however, Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares stated that "belonging to the EU is not a capricious process or one that can be done by a mere political decision", reminding that the candidate country "must meet certain social, political and economic standards".

Relations
Relations between the European Union (EU) and Ukraine are shaped through the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA). Ukraine is a priority partner within the Eastern Partnership and the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). The EU and Ukraine are seeking an increasingly close relationship with each other, going beyond co-operation, to gradual economic integration and deepening of political co-operation.

The association agreement was initiated in 2012, but the Ukrainian government suspended preparations for signing the association agreement on 21 November 2013, during the presidency of pro-Russian Viktor Yanukovych, who attended the EU summit in Vilnius on 28–29 November 2013 where the association agreement was originally planned to be signed but it was not. The decision to put off signing the association agreement led to the pro-EU Euromaidan movement. These led to the removal of Yanukovych and his government by parliament after the 2013–2014 Ukrainian revolution in February 2014.

The political part of the Association Agreement was signed on 21 March 2014 by the new Prime Minister, Arsenii Yatseniuk. Meanwhile, the EU has attempted to stabilize Ukraine by freezing assets of allegedly corrupt Russians and Ukrainians and by granting financial aid to Ukraine. The economic part of the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement was signed on 27 June 2014 by the new president, Petro Poroshenko. On 1 January 2016, Ukraine joined the DCFTA with the EU. Ukrainian citizens were granted visa-free travel to the Schengen Area for up to 90 days during any 180-day period on 11 June 2017 and the Association Agreement formally came into effect on 1 September 2017. On 21 February 2019, the Constitution of Ukraine was amended, the norms on the strategic course of Ukraine for membership in the European Union and NATO are enshrined in the preamble of the Basic Law, three articles and transitional provisions. On 28 February 2022, during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky officially signed an EU membership application for Ukraine. Prime Ministers Mateusz Morawiecki of Poland, Janez Janša of Slovenia and Petr Fiala of the Czech Republic, all being member states of the European Union, visited Kyiv and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to express their solidarity and support to Ukraine during the invasion.

Ukraine has shared borders with four EU member states—Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Romania—that stretch about 2235 km in total, with 33 border crossings by road, rail, ferry, and walking and bicycle path.

Financial Assistance
For the 2000–2006 budgetary period, the financial assistance of the EU to Ukraine was framed in the TACIS programme, established in 1991, a programme of technical assistance that supports the process of transition to market economies for the 11 CIS countries and Georgia.

For the 2007–2013 budgetary period, ENPI, standing for "European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument", covers the ENP countries, and replacing the TACIS funds for Ukraine. Ukraine is moreover eligible for horizontal instruments, that cover countries regardless of their region, such as:
 * the Instrument for Stability, a new instrument to tackle crises and instability in third countries and address trans-border challenges including nuclear safety and non-proliferation, the fight against trafficking, organised crime and terrorism;
 * the Macro Financial Assistance

Visa liberalisation process

 * 2006 Readmission Agreement
 * 2007 Visa Facilitation Agreement
 * 2010 Visa Liberalisation Action Plan

On 22 November 2010 the European Council and Ukraine announced "an action plan for Ukraine toward the establishment of a visa-free regime for short-stay travel". This roadmap outlined major improvements in Ukrainian border control, migration and asylum policies. According to The Wall Street Journal, for the EU, "the visa-free regimes are a key tool for binding their neighbors closer and for advancing reforms in those countries". Negotiations for an amendment to the 2007 Visa Facilitation agreement, which expanded the subset of individuals eligible for simplified visa procedures to include students, NGO representatives and holders of official passports, were finalised in December 2011, and the Visa Facilitation Agreement was ratified by the Verkhovna Rada on 22 March 2013. On 18 April 2013 the European Parliament followed suit, and the European Council finalised the agreement on 13 May 2013. In December 2011 former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych expected negotiations for full visa-free travel to be completed by the end of 2014. The European Commission stated in November 2013 that Ukraine must strengthen its anti-discrimination laws before the visa-free regime is established. The Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament) adopted the remaining four bills needed for the transition to the second (implementation) phase of the Visa Liberalisation Action Plan in May 2014 (including bills on improving anti-discrimination laws). When addressing MPs before the vote on these bills Verkhovna Rada Chairman and acting President Oleksandr Turchynov predicted then that "the visa-free regime will be introduced by the end of this year". However, Ukraine should have adopted bills that addresses for six conditions needed for the fulfilment of the Visa Liberalization Action Plan before 15 December 2015. On that day the EU will decide whether the country will get the visa-free regime in 2016. In December 2015, the Commission issued a progress report that found that Ukraine met all the conditions for its citizens be granted visa free travel to the Schengen Area. The European Commission formally proposed Ukraine be granted visa free travel in April 2016. This was later delayed by the EU, postponing the possible date of an agreement to September 2016. The Committee of Permanent Representatives gave its approval in November 2016. Visa-free scheme, that will allow Ukrainians with a biometric passport to visit the Schengen Area for a period of stay of 90 days in any 180-day period, would come into force once it is agreed and formally adopted by the European Parliament and the European Council. In December, the EU agreed that European Commission or an EU state will be able to suspend the visa waiver for Ukrainians for up to nine months in case of emergencies such as if "[Ukraine fails] to cooperate in taking back illegal migrants, there's a spike in the number of asylum applications, or a security issue arises". The visa-free regime deal was agreed by the EU Parliament and Council on 28 February 2017, approved by the MEPs on 6 April and by the European Council on 11 May. It entered into force on 11 June 2017.

Negotiations
Negotiation talks have not yet started. However, the European Commission has given an opinion on the status of various reforms since 2019.