Ukraine needs to conduct 35 reforms to join the EU, administration says

The Ukrainian government needs to conduct 35 structural reforms to meet the criteria for joining the European Union on a de jure basis, Deputy Presidential Administration Head Dmytro Shymkiv told a Kyiv conference on Sept. 29, as reported by the Ukrayinski Novyny news agency. These reforms involve the rule of law, energy efficiency, election law and social security, he said. The Kyiv conference was organized to promote the Presidential Administration’s “Reform Strategy 2020,” which consists of 62 large-scale reforms. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said that the Ukrainian government intends to submit an application for EU membership in 2020.

The EU Council approved on Sept. 29 a decision officially postponing the implementation of the Ukraine-EU Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area until Jan. 1, 2016, the UNIAN news agency reported.

Zenon Zawada: For the first time, the Presidential Administration of Ukraine is setting some benchmarks and goals for the reforms necessary to integrate with the European Union. This alone is a sign of progress. Yet a text of the Reform Stategy 2020 proposal has yet to be offered to the public. Just how to reach these benchmarks and goals is a big question.

What remains to be seen is whether the next government will have the will to pursue the painful reforms that don’t always coincide with the interests of political parties and business clans. So far, that prospect doesn’t look particularly bright. Clearly, 2020 is optimistic for Ukraine’s readiness to join the EU but it’s worth setting ambitious goals, even if they are out of reach.