EU wants Ukraine to grant occupied Donbas special status

The European Commission has confirmed that it supports a policy of granting special status to the occupied territories of Donbas in the nearest future, regardless of whether Russian-backed forces have yet to begin fulfilling the Minsk accords, reported the eurointegration.com.ua news site on June 24. It also confirmed that during his last visit to Kyiv, EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn promoted the EU’s new position of granting special status as soon as possible.

In its commentary clarifying its position, obtained by the news site, the European Commission referred to the clause in the Minsk accords calling for constitutional reforms by the end of 2015 that must include a special status for the occupied territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. “In fact, the Minsk accords provide for this clause being implemented only after the fulfillment of the first steps, in particular a cease-fire and removal of heavy artillery, as well as after elections in Donbas,” reported Serhiy Sydorenko, the editor of eurointegration.  com.ua.

Zenon Zawada: Without delving into the nuances of what special status means for the occupied territory, what’s important to note is that the European leadership thinks this move will satisfy the Russian-backed forces to some extent and promote peace. However, most Ukrainians would view such a move as the latest appeasement to the Kremlin, only encouraging its use of violence.

What’s important to consider is Moscow’s goal in continuing to feed the Donbas conflict, which is to drain the Ukrainian budget and destabilize the state. Its goal is not to create stability in Donbas or Ukraine. Taking that into account, we don’t think the granting of a special status prematurely will lead to peace. But perhaps the European leadership is privy to information that we don’t have.