In Ukraine, 15 May is marked as ’Vyshyvanka Day’ – day of the traditional and iconic Ukrainian shirt. The history of this wonderful festivity dates back to 2006. Since then, Ukrainians put on their traditional embroidered shirt and celebrate spring and life on this day of the year. To remember the day, as a rule, they take a photo.
On ’Vyshyvanka Day’, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos decided to be even more ’Ukrainian’ than Ukrainian ladies are. She posted a video greeting on social media platforms, in which she addressed Ukrainians and the whole world in Ukrainian language, against a backdrop of a yellow sunflower field and blue skies, dressed in an iconic embroidered Ukrainian vyshyvanka. ’Vyshyvanka is not just an embroidered ornament, but also Ukrainian identity, resilience and belonging. Your culture is your strength. Your land is your soul. And your future is in our common European home. The European Union stands by Ukraine not only in defence, but also in what makes you unique Ukrainians and worthy Europeans’, she said.
The question is not only why Kos decided to send a ’#MeToo’ signal to Ukraine and whether this gesture is acceptable in her position, but also whether her childlike enthusiasm will be enough for Ukraine’s EU membership.
This latter question seems both relevant and timely, as there is an ongoing debate among the Member States in Brussels on whether Ukraine should be admitted to the bloc, and whether it is a good idea to bring the country to the EU, even under a fast-track procedure, in full awareness that Ukraine’s EU membership will surely be accompanied by a multitude of problems, for which, the European Commission has so far offered no solution.
The mainstream European media is mostly ignorant of the fact that, apart from those vocal pro-Ukraine voices, there are other member states in the EU that would prefer to delay Ukraine’s accession to the EU or are strongly opposed to it. Although this opposition is not very large – Hungary and Slovakia -, given the principle of free speech, which is one of EU’s core principles, even this relatively small opposition deserves not only to be listened to, but also to be respected.
In fact, in Europe’s bureaucratic stronghold, this principle seems to be disregarded again and again, leading to unprecedented situations such as the European Union is discussing ways to prevent Hungary from disrupting the actual start of negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU.
In a closed-door discussion, some member states pushed the European Commission to explore options to open the first cluster of negotiations despite objections raised by Budapest over the situation of the Hungarian minority communities in Western Ukraine, the American Bloomberg’s sources reported mid-May. According to these sources, EU members believe that Budapest intends to derail the process of Ukraine’s EU integration, despite Hungary’s previous agreement to start accession talks in 2023.
According to Bloomberg, there may be ways to avoid that obstacle. While unanimity is needed to open and conclude EU accession negotiations, it is not legally required for opening or closing individual chapters in that process.
Bloomberg also notes that Ukraine’s accession bid gained fresh momentum after Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country in 2022. While Brussels denied any fast track to Ukraine, saying the process must be merit-based, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised Kyiv’s progress with reforms despite the ongoing war.
At this point it should be noted that, Hungary has still not lifted its veto on the formal opening of Ukraine’s EU accession talks but High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas has already admitted that the EU is preparing a plan B due to Hungary’s opposition.
To conclude, despite the lack of unanimity among EU member states on Ukraine’s EU membership, and completely ignoring the fact that Ukraine itself is also unfit for EU membership as it does not meet the accession criteria, some influential pro-Ukraine decision-makers in Brussels are taking steps to suggest that Ukraine is already part of the EU.
A question should be raised asking who really wants to defend Europe: those who want to bring a Ukraine which is at war with Russia into the EU as soon as possible, or those who are determined to keep out of the war and prefer to postpone the issue of Ukraine’s EU integration, by veto or some other means, including persuading other member states…?
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