Main challenge for Ukraine on its path to EU, apart from war: Opinion of Estonian diplomat
Photo: Ukraine must overcome challenges on the way to the EU (Getty Images)
One of the main challenges for Ukraine on its path to the European Union is currently corruption and the rule of law, states Estonian diplomat and former chief negotiator for Estonia's EU accession, Alar Streimann, in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
He shared that Estonia faced challenges in nearly every sector during its accession to the European Union. As a former Soviet country, it had to undergo comprehensive changes.
"I think that it will be easier for Ukraine in some sectors, but then on the other hand, in some other sectors, as a rule of law, Ukraine definitely has room for improvement. We should be frank about that," Streimann noted.
According to him, Estonia, even in the early 1990s, did not face the same issues with corruption and the rule of law that Ukraine is currently dealing with. However, he believes that all these challenges can be overcome because Ukraine is ready for this.
Streimann also pointed out that Ukraine could benefit from the experiences of other countries that have joined the EU in the past to address these issues.
"You cannot always do what the others tell you. But there is a lot of wisdom, I think, a huge amount of goodwill among the European countries, especially in the Baltic and Scandinavian area, just to support this effort of Ukraine," he stated.
Ukraine's accession to the EU
Following the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine was granted candidate status for EU membership. Since then, it has made further progress towards joining the Union, with accession negotiations recently beginning with the EU.
Now, the Ukrainian government must implement a series of reforms for the country to become part of the bloc.
As stated in an interview with RBC-Ukraine by the EU Ambassador to Ukraine, Katarína Mathernová, the realistic date for Ukraine's accession to the European Union is 2030.
