Ukraine et Union européenne : profiter de l'élan

A l’initiative des nouveaux Etats membres, l’UE a pesé de
tout son poids dans la crise ukrainienne. L’Union doit à présent
apporter des bénéfices substantiels à ceux qui se sont battus pour
que des élections équitables puissent avoir lieu,
écrit Jacek Kucharczyk
dans Transitions Online.

As Viktor Yushchenko prepares to assume office as the winner of
Ukraine’s presidential election, it is worth looking beyond the
immediate aftermath of the “Orange Revolution,” to Ukraine’s
position in a wider European context. The diplomatic efforts in
Kyiv over recent weeks have demonstrated that the European Union
really is capable of formulating a common foreign policy–at the
very least on its eastern front. By responding promptly and
substantively to the vote-rigging and abuse of democratic
procedures during the presidential elections in its own
near-abroad, the EU has taken a principled stand for the values of
democracy and equity, and rejected a short-term approach to
regional politics. 

In fact, the changes taking place in Ukraine are in no small
part a result of the enlargement of the EU to its borders since
Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia, along with seven other countries,
became the newest members of the EU in May. The prominent role
played by the presidents of Poland and Lithuania, two new EU
members, in negotiations to find a peaceful and democratic solution
to the crisis in Ukraine saw the EU demonstrating a new proactive
approach. Combined with the diplomacy of the EU’s High
Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier
Solana, this dynamic engagement signaled a strong commitment to
supporting democratic processes in a neighboring country. 

This new diplomatic initiative is welcomed most by the
courageous Ukrainians who spent night after night camping out on
the streets of their capital, but also by those new EU members who
share Ukraine’s experience of a recent authoritarian past under the
shadow of communism. The Policy Association for an Open Society–a
new network of 23 independent policy centers from Central and
Eastern Europe and Central Asia– includes think tanks from both
new EU members and countries from the Commonwealth of Independent
States. The events in Kyiv have reinforced our belief in the
importance of sharing the lessons of our history and applying core
values of democracy, equity, and pluralism to our foreign policy.
Only through such an approach can we ensure that the old Cold-War
mentality, where “spheres of influence” overrode national
self-determination, does not constrain a country’s ambitions for
freedom and sovereignty. 

To read the full text of the article, visit the Transitions Online website.