Commentary by Dr. Andreas Kiefer
It's not enough to change the hardware, the laws. For the system to work, the software must also be compatible, that is, the stakeholders, the politicians at national, regional and local level and the public servants reporting to them.
Dr Andreas Kiefer
Salzburg (OTS) – Ukraine’s pro-European orientation is not new. Ukraine has chosen the European option with democracy and against autocracy since the 1990s and has been a member of the Council of Europe since 9 November 1995. In early 2019, the Ukrainian parliament enshrined in the constitution a “strategic orientation of Ukraine towards full membership of the EU and NATO”. In March 1998, a partnership and cooperation agreement with the EU came into force, Ukraine has been a member of the EU's “Eastern Partnership” since 2009, the association agreement has been in force since January 1, 2016 and on June 23 2022, Ukraine received candidate status for membership. A unanimous decision by the European Council is required to begin accession negotiations. Voting will take place in Brussels on December 14th and 15th, 2023.
Ukraine's accession to the Council of Europe has resulted in numerous positive reforms in the areas of democracy development, decentralization, human rights, the fight against corruption, as well as the rule of law and judicial reform. The Council of Europe's monitoring reports are public – and in many cases the European Commission uses these monitoring reports as the basis for its own progress reports on accession candidates: https://www.coe.int/en/ web/portal/ukraine
The prospect of EU accession negotiations is a motivating factor
The prospect of EU accession negotiations has led to enormous efforts on the part of Ukrainian actors in recent years and will continue to be an important motivating factor in the future to advance legal reforms and make them irreversible.
This applies, for example, to strengthening local and regional self-government and therefore pluralistic democracy. Since the 2010 local elections, women and men who have nothing to do with the former communist and corrupt Ukraine and who are “designers of change” have been elected to councils and mayoral positions in many cities and municipalities every five years. years. You can read about this in the democratization programs:
www.coe.int/en/web/congress/co-operation-activities-ukraine_2023
Reforms
Accession negotiations will stimulate enthusiasm for reforms at the national level and, above all, at the level of regions and oblasts (larger administrative areas in Ukraine), as well as in cities and municipalities.
Ukrainian society and economy must be built from the bottom up, based on European (political and economic) values and standards, in order to be stable in the long term. It is worth investing in this and, at the same time, making it clear to Ukrainian partners at all levels and the media that the opening of accession negotiations is only the beginning of a long and difficult process due to the great need for adjustments in laws and regulations. Above all, these must be implemented in daily practice. “It’s not enough to change the hardware, the laws. For the system to work, the software must also be compatible, that is, the actors, the politicians at national, regional and local levels and the public servants subordinate to them”.
Dr. Andreas Kiefer was Secretary General of the Congress of Regions and Local Authorities of the Council of Europe from 2010 to 2022 (https://www.salzburg.gv.at/themen/europa/eu-infothek/)
CV: https://rm.coe.int/2020-11-ak-cv-curriculum-vitae-de
Questions and contact: