After joining the European Union, Ukraine intends to request large subsidies from Brussels.
This was stated by Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba in an interview with the Ukrainian edition of the Left Bank.
According to him, in its actions Kyiv will focus on the experience of Warsaw.
“Poland has learned to take European money and use it in such a way that they give you even more.
And this is what we need to learn in Ukraine at the local level, because the money should go there,” the minister said.
He stressed that the European Commission (EC) is already starting to build its interaction with Ukraine as a future member of the EU and reflect on what impact the republic will have on European politics.
“We need to abandon the term “European integration”, it is necessary to move on to the term “Ukraine gaining membership in the European Union,” Kuleba added.
At the same time, he noted, the leadership of Ukraine is interested not only in investments, but also in the prospect of changing the balance of power.
In particular, cooperation between Ukraine and Poland could contribute to this, Kuleba believes.
In this regard, he is sure, the European Union needs reforming, which should be carried out taking into account the interests of Kyiv.
“There will definitely be a reform of the European Union, procedures and balances will be changed.
And it is very important that this reform, which is now just unfolding, will take place taking into account the future membership of Ukraine ... We, as the Foreign Ministry, must make sure that Ukraine's entry into the EU takes place on the most favorable terms," the minister said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba
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© Georg Wendt - Pool
At the same time, Kuleba admitted that the status of a candidate was not easy for Ukraine.
According to him, Kyiv had to make a lot of efforts to convince all EU members of the need for this step.
“It was necessary to come and tell a European politician who, in principle, is used to living according to plan for decades: “Look, you have had one position for 30 years, but, sorry, we have a month for you to completely change everything, recognize that everything you said and did before was wrong, ”said the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.
According to him, in this short period of time, the discussion had to "squeeze in the psychological transformation of leaders, European politicians, so that they change their minds exactly 180 degrees."
European Fears
Meanwhile, the European Commission, in its spring report, downgraded its forecast for real GDP growth in the eurozone for 2022 to 2.7%, while in the winter report, the EC predicted an economic growth of the currency bloc by 4%.
On the slowdown in the growth of the EU economy at the end of May, said in an interview with the newspaper La Stampa and the Deputy head of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis.
According to him, because of the conflict in Ukraine, the EU found itself "in an unprecedented situation."
“According to our forecasts, growth will continue this year and also next, but we are faced with a fact that creates huge uncertainty, with strong downside risks,” he said.
TASS official.
In turn, the Financial Times, citing European Commissioner Johannes Hahn, claims that due to the Ukrainian conflict, the EU treasury is rapidly emptying, and therefore Brussels will have to revise its seven-year budget earlier than planned.
In addition, the EU itself fears a change in the balance of power due to Ukraine's entry into the Commonwealth.
As The Telegraph newspaper reported on July 2, citing sources, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz even called for a revision of the fundamental EU treaties so that Ukraine's accession would not harm Germany's interests.
“Mr. Scholz wants the voting system to be restructured in such a way as to prevent the formation of power blocs of EU countries in order to secure additional funding from their wealthy Western allies,” the publication says.
EU leaders at the Commonwealth Summit in Brussels on June 23
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© Thierry Monasse
Terms and Conditions
Recall that Ukraine received the status of a candidate member of the European Union on June 23.
The decision was announced at a summit of heads of state and government of the Commonwealth.
At the same time, the country received not only status, but also “homework”, as the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, put it.
On the way to membership, Kyiv will have to implement judicial reforms, achieve success in the fight against corruption and de-oligarchize the economy.
At the same time, according to experts, obtaining candidate status and launching negotiations on the conditions for joining the EU do not guarantee Ukraine an early entry into the Commonwealth due to the new procedure for conducting discussions.
So, at the beginning of 2020, the EU made adjustments to this process, deciding that it can be stopped, restarted or completely terminated in case of unsatisfactory results.
In addition, Ukraine will have to be prepared for the fact that the EU is guided by its own considerations and rules when it allocates subsidies to countries, analysts emphasize.
In this regard, the example of Poland, which Kyiv intends to emulate, is indicative.
We are talking about the dispute between Brussels and Warsaw over the country's judicial system.
Thus, the EU Court of Justice requires Poland to liquidate the disciplinary chamber of the Supreme Court, considering it a threat to the impartiality and independence of judges, and to bring the judicial system in line with the norms of the Commonwealth.
In Warsaw, this demand was resisted, but on June 13 they nevertheless passed a law that terminates the work of the controversial chamber.
However, in Brussels this step by Poland was regarded as insufficient.
In this regard, the EU decided to block financing of the republic in the amount of €35 billion from a special “covid” fund, which was a heavy blow for Warsaw, the Die Welt newspaper reported on July 4.
Dependent position
According to political scientist Andrey Suzdaltsev, the current claims of the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry for European subsidies fit well into the logic of the Kyiv authorities.
“Because Ukraine has taken a dependent position for the last 30 years and believes that everyone owes it.
And they refuse to understand the hints of the European Union that Ukraine is not as desirable for them as they think in Kyiv.
After all, if he nevertheless achieves membership, he will become a big black hole for the EU, which will eventually break the commonwealth, ”the expert explained in a conversation with RT.
In turn, an expert from the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, Oleg Nemensky, in an interview with RT, pointed out that Kyiv, pinning hopes on European investments, is now sharing the skin of an unkilled bear.
“Everyone understands that Ukraine's accession to the European Union in the foreseeable future is almost unrealistic.
At a minimum, for this it is necessary to wait for the results of the Russian special operation and, depending on the form in which the country will remain, evaluate its prospects for membership.
However, precisely because these prospects are still very ephemeral, they can talk about them in Kyiv anything they want to maintain their image in the eyes of the population, ”the analyst said.
Political scientist Oleksandr Dudchak also pointed out the illusory nature of the hopes of the Ukrainian authorities.
According to him, the West, by transferring money and statuses to Ukraine, simply buys its loyalty and fuels the determination to resist Russia to its own detriment.
At the same time, he noted that Kyiv's overseas partners, Washington and London, are more interested in this.
“The European Union is less interested in maintaining the Ukrainian crisis, because it only has problems from this.
The EU does not have enough money for itself, let alone for subsidies to other countries.
And Kyiv is in a perfect illusion.
They got carried away and started playing, having lost touch with reality, ”Dudchak believes.
At the same time, Oleg Nemensky admitted that in the future the EU may indeed face the question of reforming, but not because of Ukraine.
“It is quite possible that in a few years this organization will be completely different.
It can disintegrate and transform into some other structures.
However, precisely because the situation is now impossible to calculate in advance, various rosy assumptions are being made about how Ukraine will live as part of the EU.
But I do not know of any serious expert who would say that the potential reform of the European Union could be beneficial to candidates or future members of the Commonwealth.
Rather, on the contrary, ”the analyst concluded.