Supporting the Ukrainian Revolution

In ECFR Policy Memo of February 2014 - Supporting the Ukrainian Revolution - Andrew Wilson explains the situation in Ukraine and argues that the EU needs to support the new Ukrainian government:

+ Economic assistance: The most urgent challenges the government faces are the financial situation and regional stabilisation. The country is effectively broke and it can no longer count on Russia’s assistance. Ukraine needs both emergency economic assistance and radical reform: the EU should therefore help fast-track Ukraine towards a new IMF programme and consider immediate bridging assistance.

+ Constitutional reform: The EU needs to offer all the help it can to allow Ukraine to build a sound democratic system that has legal basis and is seen as legitimate by its citizens. The EU should also offer help in the investigation of crimes, collection of illegal weapons, and conduct of elections.

+ Ukraine's European future: It is symbolically important that the EU reopens negotiations about the Association Agreement but it should not repeat last year's mistakes. In the long term, the EU should be much more open about debating Ukraine’s membership prospects, and stress the importance of Ukraine completing difficult but necessary reforms.

• Primary Source

ESO: Key Source: Euromaidan - Protests in Ukraine 2013 - 2015 - Key source http://www.europeansources.info/record/euromaidan-protests-in-ukraine-2013-2015/

ECFR: Wider Europe Programme: Crisis in Ukraine http://www.ecfr.eu/wider/ukraine

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