LVIV, Ukraine – Sometimes the question needs to be asked: What does Ukraine’s governing elite really want from the European Union?
Two answers to that question have been on display in Ukraine in recent weeks.
One has come in the form of sometimes angry letters and statements from Party of Regions folks addressed to European officials that essentially demand Brussels help Kyiv bring former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko to justice for alleged crimes committed at home.
The other, more subtle and less publicized, was evident on an intimate stage in Lviv the other week when one of Tymoshenko’s supporters, politician Andriy Shevchenko, took part in a debate series that brings together European cultural heavyweights.
At first blush, this varied approach could merely be attributed to political bravado; after all every politician, irrespective of nationality, wants to look good in the eyes of their respective audience.
Yet a deeper assessment suggests that how Ukraine’s political elite approaches Europe and its varied institutions these days speaks increasingly of a generational divide that is evident with each passing day.
It is the kind of divide that has fostered revolution in Egypt and promises to become more vociferous in other countries of the Middle East.
A deeper assessment suggests that how Ukraine’s political elite approaches Europe and its varied institutions these days speaks increasingly of a generational divide that is evident with each passing day."
– Natalia A. Feduschak, Kyiv Post staff writer.
The debate was co-sponsored by an entity called Eurozine, along with Lviv’s Center for Urban History of East Central Europe, a private academic foundation. Eurozine is a network of Europe’s leading cultural journals. Through its netmagazine, it not only promotes its 75 partner journals, but connects cooperating magazines and institutions to help foster new, and often, divergent ideas.
Since 2009, Eurozine has been conducting a debate series among prominent thinkers. This year, the topic was to look at the rise of nationalism in Europe. Lviv was chosen as the backdrop for the debate. At the crossroads of European culture, it has been home to many nationalities for centuries.
The fabric of its multicultural life was virtually destroyed during World War II, but historical and cultural memory is making a strong comeback, as is nationalism.
Shevchenko’s sparring partner was David Van Reybrouck, an award-winning Flemish writer, playwright and cultural historian who lives in Brussels.
While rising nationalism was indeed explored, the discussion also became a discourse on the fallibilities of the European Union.
Although he is a unionist, Van Reybrouck was quite critical of the body: The EU is too bureaucratic; he wondered if its nations could truly live together in harmony and cede enough autonomy to allow the union to work; and noted that sometimes its new members, after years of clamoring to get in, prove to be unruly.
Hungary with its new oppressive media law is just the most recent example. All these collective problems are reason for Europe’s lethargy in accepting new members.
“The European dream isn’t believed in anymore,” said Van Reybrouck. Throughout the discussion, Shevchenko, 35, often listened politely,responded to questions when asked, and rebutted when necessary. Then he made a comment that gave everyone pause.
“The importance of the [union] for countries that aren’t in the EU yet is that it a source of inspiration,” he said. For those countries, the EU represents hope and freedom.
In that one statement, Shevchenko underscored the overriding difference between his generation, and the one running Ukraine: His generation gets it. It gets the importance of Europe. It gets its values. It gets that the role of Brussels is not to resolve home-grown conflicts, but is there ensure all those institutions that promote and defend democracy work, even when it means bringing – through transparent institutions – individuals to justice.
The European dream isn’t believed in anymore. The importance of the [union] for countries that aren’t in the EU yet is that it a source of inspiration.”
– David Van Reybrouck, an award-winning Flemish writer.
The transparency of those institutions is questionable in Ukraine.
Shevchenko’s generation also gets another important point: As much as Ukraine needs the EU, the EU needs them. It needs the freshness, optimism and even pride Ukraine’s youth can bring, if only given a chance.
I have observed Ukrainian politics for literally half my life now. There was a time when the only Ukrainian politician who could speak English was Serhiy Holovaty, now a Region’s party member. Because he was the only person they could understand, all the foreign reporters flocked to him and Holovaty’s opinions went around the globe.
Today, however, Ukraine is filled with young people who have traveled the world, studied abroad and know a multitude of foreign languages. Indeed, the Lviv debate was conducted in English and I was surprised how many audience members did not wear headsets to hear the translation; they understood.
I am not sure I can answer the question I started with: What does Ukraine’s governing elite really want from the European Union?
Yes, we can talk about easing visa regimes and trade restrictions. The question, though, is a deeper one. What I can say with certainty is that to understand what Europe – and the West generally — wants from them, more Ukrainian leaders would be well-served if they listened in when their country’s younger generation participated in Europe-wide debates like Eurozine’s.
Kyiv Post staff writer Natalia A. Feduschak can be reached at [email protected].
