Mapping-Out the New Contractual Relations between the European Union and Its Neighbours Learning from the EU-UkraineEnhanced Agreement' (original) (raw)

More than a neighbour – proposals for the EU's future policy towards Ukraine

2003

The borders of the European Union and Europe do not currently coincide, nor will they do so after the EU's next eastern enlargement. How will relations be after enlargement between the EU and countries to the East, the so-called Wider Europe? This group comprises Moldova, Ukraine, and Belarus, the countries which have widely different aspirations visa -vis the Union. Largely owing to the challenges of deepening integration, internal reforms and enlargement, challenges presented by these countries have received limited attention from the EU, in a marked contrast to the Western Balkan countries. This ambivalence has left a country like Ukraine neglected, in spite of its persistent efforts in seeking closer ties with the Union. In 1996, the intention to join the EU was first voiced, and, in June 1998, a strategy on Ukraine's integration with the European Union was adopted, formally establishing Ukraine's membership of the EU as a long-term strategic goal. A more detailed programme for Ukraine's integration with the EU was adopted in September 2000. Since then Ukraine has repeatedly articulated its principal foreign policy objectivemembership of the European Union. The Union has so far been reluctant to acquiesce to this desire, considering the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), which came into force in 1998 and which is due for renewal by 2008, as a sufficient and appropriate framework for future relations. Mindful also of the precedent set by relations with Turkey and experiencing enlargement 'overstretch', the EU has been I. Justification The Enlarged EU and Ukraine: New Relations

Scope of the New EU-Ukraine Enhanced Agreement-Is There Any Room for Further Speculation?

papers.ssrn.com

The paper conducts a critical analysis of the potential legal basis and scope of the future European Union (EU)-Ukraine enhanced agreement. Accepting that the most probable and most beneficial possibility for Ukraine is to conclude an association agreement with the EU on the basis of Article 310 EC Treaty (EC), it is argued that the objectives of the enhanced co-operation between the EU and Ukraine -as expected and desired by the Ukrainian political élite -could be achieved by a partnership agreement concluded on the basis of Article 181a EC. Furthermore, if the new enhanced EU-Ukraine agreement were concluded as a partnership agreement, it might be better suited for the solving of certain political and legal challenges in contemporary EU-Ukraine relations. First, a new enhanced agreement concluded on the basis of Article 181a EC would not entail unjustified political expectations -on the part of Ukraine -of obtaining the perspective of full EU-membership in the near future. Second, a future EU-Ukraine partnership agreement would be the best option for a "transitional" enhanced agreement before the Treaty of Lisbon enters into force. Third, a future partnership agreement between the EU and Ukraine will not undermine the fundamentals of the evolving strategic partnership between the EU and Russia.

Notes on the Relations Between the Eu and Ukraine and the Progress in the Implementation of the Association Agreement

Admìnìstrativne pravo ì proces, 2019

The 2014 Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine, which replaces the 1994 Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, may be considered the most important result of a cooperation developed since the beginning of 90's, first in the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy, then of the Eastern Partnership. This paper analyses in an essential way the evolving relations between the EU and Ukraine, and the progress made by Ukraine in pursuing the objectives set forth in the Association Agreement. The Author considers the main features of the Agreement, and identifies and assesses the principal legal issues arising from its implementation. The Agreement is aimed at deepening political and economic relations between the EU and Ukraine, and to gradually integrate Ukraine into the EU internal market. It is the first of a new generation of EU agreements characterized by comprehensiveness, and democratic conditionality. It requires a broad and detailed work of approximation of the Ukrainian laws to the EU regulations. Reforms are foreseen in a number of key areas. Ukraine has been developing a complex strategy to reorient its legal system towards the EU. According to the 2018 Report on Implementation of the Association Agreement-prepared by the Government Office for Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, and the Vice Prime Minister's Office for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, based on the outcome of performance of the objectives scheduled for 2018, the Agreement was implemented by 52%. According to the Author, in evaluating the "results achieved" by Ukraine in the approximation of the national legislation to the EU legislation, it must be taken into account the challenging situation of the country. The Government and the Verkhovna Rada have been acting with the aim to pursue the overall objectives of the Association Agreement notwithstanding the difficult political and administrative situation following the events in Crimea, the Donbass conflict, the worsening of the relations with Russia until the termination of the Treaty of Friendship and the temporary adoption of the Martial Law. He highlights the efforts of the EU in financially supporting the process of reform in Ukraine, and of Ukraine towards constitutional and legislative reforms reinforcing the European choice. Ukraine has finally developed an ad hoc institutional framework, and new legislation, including amendments to the Constitution, for the implementation of the Association Agreement. Relevant progress has been made in various sectors of the cooperation, while in various others the actions taken are not yet effective. For example, in the sector of the rule of law,

The European Union and its Neighbourhood: Time for a Rethink

On 7 May 2009 leading policy-makers from the European Union (EU) are scheduled to hold a high-level meeting with political leaders from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine (see map on p. 2) in order to launch a new Eastern Partnership (EaP). It is high time for EU policy-makers to renew and to reinvigorate the relationships with these east European neighbours, as indeed with the southern neighbours (the subject of a parallel initiative to develop the Union for the Mediterranean). The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) had run its course in its previous format. The EU (further) enlargement policy is running up against problems. However, the content of the EaP has so far been sketched only in outline. It has been launched at what has turned out to be a difficult moment, given the political turmoil inside some of the target countries. Much more thought -and imagination  needs to be given to how to reshape these relationships and to which tools are needed for the job. In particular: