From a ‘sprint run’ to a ‘marathon’ to join the EU: results of EuroSummit of CSOs

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, our country has faced unprecedented challenges.

However, alongside these challenges, an unprecedented level of unity and cooperation emerged between the government, civil society, and non-governmental experts. This cooperation was instrumental in helping Ukraine obtain candidate status after our country applied for EU membership on the fifth day of the war, thus initiating a sprint run that demanded maximum concentration and efficiency from all of us.

In those early days, the list of those involved in the preparatory work grew daily, encompassing the names and affiliations of organisations and experts with relevant expertise.

Ultimately, in March and April 2022, several hundred experts, the majority of whom worked outside the civil service, were engaged in the process of drafting responses to the European Commission’s questionnaire.

This team even included those who found themselves under temporary occupation.

The way government and non-governmental specialists worked together tirelessly to prepare answers to the questionnaire, setting an absolute record for the speed of its preparation, was a true manifestation of national unity and dedication to our common cause.

However, the sprint run is over, and we are now faced with a different challenge – the marathon of negotiations on Ukraine’s membership in the EU.

It is a lengthy process that will require several years of systematic work and significant resources from all stakeholders, including the expert community. To successfully navigate this path, we must establish mechanisms to ensure that the expertise of think tanks and individual experts is integrated into relevant negotiation groups.

To determine public readiness for participation in the negotiation process, EasyBusiness and the Centre for Economic Recovery organised a EuroSummit of civil society organisations on Europe Day. The summit brought together key civil society organisations that have been active in European integration since the Association Agreement’s took force in 2014, along with newer civil society organisations (CSOs) possessing strong sectoral expertise but who are just beginning to familiarise themselves with our European integration journey.

Nearly 200 experts participated in the summit, showcasing their capabilities and collaborating on potential projects aimed at uniting the public, government, and business associations.

However, maintaining realistic assessments is crucial, as these cannot always rely on the unique experiences gained during the initial stages of the full-scale war.

Notably, in 2023, EasyBusiness, under a project supported by ISAR Unity, conducted a survey of Ukrainian civil society organisations to assess their understanding of European integration and their willingness to engage in negotiations.

The results turned out to be worse than expected.

Despite a high willingness to play a role in European integration, the overall level of knowledge about the decision-making process and understanding of the nature of EU law in various sectors remains low.

However, experts now have the opportunity to enhance their understanding of the European field. The government has granted CSOs access to explanatory sessions between Ukraine and the European Commission, covering all 33 negotiation chapters, which include EU law, as part of the first stage of the official screening, which is a stage in preparation for negotiations with the EU. Further screening will take place in bilateral meetings with the European Commission, where the government will outline its plan for implementing key EU law acts across all negotiation chapters.

It is important for expert think tanks to transition now from observers to active participants, aiding the government in preparing for meetings and formulating official positions.

Furthermore, during the formal start of accession negotiations (at the anticipated first intergovernmental conference between Ukraine and the EU by the end of June), the government must present its negotiating delegation and the General Negotiation Position. This document should clearly define the role of the public in the negotiation process. While negotiations will be conducted by official state representatives, certain messages and positions should be tested and discussed within the expert community before they are established as the official Ukrainian stance.

Therefore, the public should actively prepare for its involvement in the negotiation process, building knowledge and expertise.

The good news that creates a mechanism for this is that during the EuroSummit, the Office of the Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration presented for the first time a new initiative called EuroHub, which is intended to become a unified platform for interaction between various actors (primarily CSOs and the government) in preparation for negotiations on Ukraine’s membership in the EU. Thus, the practice of proactive involvement of public experts in Ukraine’s European integration, tested, in particular, in 2022, is preserved, making the accession negotiation process more open and inclusive, and the developed positions more stable.

In fact, we have to learn on-the-go and prepare a large number of documents in advance.

This is the only way not to lose the initiative and stimulate the European Commission to make positive decisions regarding the negotiations. Ukraine has already started working on three roadmaps necessary to open the Fundamentals cluster. These are the roadmaps on:

• Rule of law;
• Public administration reform;
• Functioning of democratic institutions.

There are enough think tanks in Ukraine that work in these areas and could actively participate in writing these documents.

I am convinced that regardless of the composition of the official delegation of Ukraine for negotiations on EU membership, in reality, all experts, civil servants, and representatives of the business community involved in the process will be de facto involved in the negotiation process. This is an extraordinary responsibility, for which, as the first months of the war showed, we are ready.

Both the government and experts are ready to work as a single team and achieve progress on the path to Ukraine’s full membership in the EU. For this, however, we need to shift from the sprint mode to a marathon and act together, especially in the eyes of our European partners.

eurointegration.com.ua