Of
course, now the No. 1 challenge for all of us is to protect not the European
choice, but the people who defended this choice and against whom legal proceedings
have already started or may start.
However,
it is equally important to retain the European leverage on the Ukrainian
leadership. I know that many European politicians and diplomats interpreted the
hypocritical game of revision of the already initialled association agreement,
which now the Ukrainian side is trying to start with the EU, as another slap in
the face. However, if the Ukrainian side with all their proposals for new
consultations is shown the door, European integration may officially become the
No. 1 enemy of the ruling regime. And everyone who supports Ukraine’s European
choice and promotes it will be perceived as the main threat which has to be
neutralized immediately.
It is
necessary to hold Ukrainian authorities at least on a tiny European leash, but
not in order to make friends with them again. This is to ensure that the
European idea keeps open at least a tiny window to reach those Ukrainians which
are not ready yet to defend this idea neither among their friends nor in social
networks, nor, especially, at street protests. It has much less chances of
winning if it is perceived being the main enemy of the regime rather than being
authorized, at least on the official rhetorical level.
How can relations
between Ukraine and the EU stay in good shape until the president of Ukraine
(probably a new one) will be ready to sign the association agreement and make
every effort to implement it?
There are
solutions, and they are not secret. We must promptly strive for a visa-free
regime with the EU because a direct relation between the number of visits to the
EU and the level of support for Ukraine’s membership in the European Union has
been proven by many sociological campaigns. It is necessary to develop a
maximum number of partnerships between Ukraine and EU member states at the
level of universities, local communities, NGOs and movements. Many of them
already exist, but a serious audit is needed.
It is
necessary to motivate Ukrainian students to participate in student exchange
programs and study in the EU, because the lack of motivation is the main reason
today for only 3 percent of Ukrainians having visited Schengen Area countries for
the educational purposes.
When I
was travelling with colleagues during a campaign for the EU in the regions of
Ukraine, parents, not students, were mainly interested in education in the EU “for
the child to go somewhere to study.” The EU could also consider
introducing scholarships for Ukrainian students, similar to the Open Europe
Scholarship Scheme (OESS) which has been established for young Belarusians.
It is necessary
to maximize the amount of press tours and internship programs for Ukrainian
journalists (especially regional ones) to EU member states. We need to create a
network for communication of young professionals, who work in government, regional
and district administrations, with their counterparts in the EU. From my own
experience, I would say that socialization may be the most effective means for Europeanization.
A
regional information campaign, which explains that the European choice is not just
high politics, but daily things: the ability to defend their rights in court,
clean air and water that can be drunk with no fear, decent infrastructure, the
absence of need to give bribes at every turn, in no case should be stopped. That is why such things
like the EU’s campaign “Stronger Together” have to continue,
involving as many speakers from the EU as possible (in addition to ambassadors,
active European members of parliament, well-known retired politicians,
journalists from leading media). The emphasis, of course, is to be made on
those regions where EuroMaidans have collected fewer supporters.
Another
question is who will do this and how should it be done? After Vilnius it is
clear that civil society is the key engine of European ideas in Ukraine.
Despite the fact that it is much stronger in Ukraine than in some other
countries of the region, it is still not established and needs constant
motivation and support. In particular, the support of European partners, since
there have been many projects related to the European integration supported by
U.S. funds. Obviously, today all NGOs and think-tanks, regardless of their
profile, are to create a strong European coalition. And when planning their
activities for the next few years they must answer the only question: “What
can you do for the country’s European integration?”
Due to
the increasingly conscious European choice, today is a moment when we either
substantially strengthen civil society with caring and critically thinking
citizens or marginalize it significantly, as it happened in Belarus in its
time. In particular, by failing to dot the i’s in collaboration with the
political opposition. There is nothing wrong with the civil society acting as a
constructive opposition, but there is nothing good with the political
opposition having a more constructive appearance against the backdrop of the
civil society.
The
European Union, if it so wished, today could help civil society in Ukraine to
become not only more visible, but also a more systematic and influential
player. To do so, on the one hand, it has to push for civil society to be involved
in government decision-making and provide the government with funds only for
those projects that are implemented in cooperation with civil society. On the
other hand, the EU should focus on supporting those organizations which are
able to build relationships and inspire the European idea of ordinary people more
than their international partners or donors.
Only a
strong civil society can today perform a critical role in the liberalization of
the visa regime by applying constant public pressure on parliament for it adopt
necessary legislation and by also pointing to Moldova’s success in obtaining visa-free
travel to the EU next year. And it could be involved in the process concerning
the signing and implementation of the “Open Skies” agreement, which can enhance
the mobility of Ukrainian citizens due to low airfare prices. And, it could
also simply describe the opportunities of the new EU program “Erasmus
plus.”
If we roll
up our sleeves next year, we can form a critical mass of those for whom the
“European choice” is a perceived need, rather than a political
slogan. Accordingly, in 2015 we will have a situation where a person who is not
able to implement the European course cannot become the president. Or, at
least, is not able to sign the association agreement.
Ukraine
has repeatedly tried to pursue European integration without Europeanization.
Today we are forced to exercise Europeanization without European integration,
to restart the European integration one day. But this time, with a Europeanized
society.
Alyona Getmanchuk is the director of the Institute of
World Policy, a think tank in Kyiv.
