VI Kharkiv International Legal Forum Panel Discussion

Time: 02 PM – 05 PM (Kyiv time)

Hosted by Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, Ukraine

In cooperation with:

Проект “Association4U”

Concept

The civilizational choice of Ukraine’s development was made when in 1993 the Resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine “On the Basics of Internal and Foreign Policy” was adopted, where membership in the EU was listed as one of the key priorities of our state. Since then, many fateful acts were adopted that determined the country’s unchanging course towards European integration. The Ukrainian people strongly supported this vector in 2014. The main achievement in relations between Ukraine and the EU was the entry into force of the Association Agreement of 2014, which became a signpost for large-scale political and legal reforms in Ukraine on the way to EU membership and laid the legal foundations for the further approximation of legislation to the EU acquis. The work was aimed at ensuring that Ukraine has stable institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities, a functioning market economy and the capacity to cope with competition and market forces in the EU, the ability to take on and implement effectively the obligations of membership, including adherence to the aims of political, economic and monetary union.

The unanimous support of international partners in response to the brutal violation of the basic principles of international law as a result of the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine testified that our country undoubtedly is a part of a large European family. Ukrainians are ready to defend European values ​​at the cost of their own lives. It was logical, albeit under tragic circumstances, for Ukraine to receive the status of a candidate state for joining the European Union. Such lightning-quick obtaining of this status became possible thanks to the titanic work of the Ukrainian state apparatus, aimed at the proper fulfillment of obligations under the Association Agreement, and hundreds of consultations with representatives of the European Commission, as well as other international partners.

Despite receiving EU candidate status, our country still has a lot of work ahead of it, which it must perform “perfectly”. The first review of progress on the implementation of the Copenhagen criteria by the European Commission will take place in December 2022 and the further rapprochement program will depend on it.

In this context, the panel discussion should become an open platform for a professional discussion of the Euro integrational path and the future development strategy of Ukraine, which will lead it to EU membership.

The thematic design of the panel discussion allows attracting experts and representatives of state bodies of Ukraine, on the one hand, and representatives and experts of EU Member States, on the other hand. Such synergy will help answer the questions facing the Ukrainian public and private sectors to successfully fulfill the EU membership criteria.

The panel discussion aims to highlight the following issues:

• The Association Agreement as a roadmap for bringing the legal, political, and economic systems of Ukraine closer to the EU acquis;
• The possibility of a particular “accelerated” procedure (“fast track”) for the accession of Ukraine to the EU;
• Experience of the European integration path of EU Member States;
• Priority areas for further European integration reforms in Ukraine;
• EU values ​​as a measure of the European direction of Ukraine’s development;

• Peculiarities of the processes of European integration of Ukraine in the conditions of a full-scale war with the Russian Federation, etc.