“My goal is to erase the perception of Ukraine as a country of inferior, corrupt officials”
It was a surprise to many when the Ukrainian parliament dismissed Olha Stefanishyna, who was responsible for Ukraine's EU accession, during this week's government reshuffle. The decision was a purely technical one, though. The following day, she was reappointed as Deputy Prime Minister and also made Minister of Justice.
What is the point of these changes? Does this mean that European integration is now less of a priority, or more? Will Hungary block the EU enlargement talks?
Advertisement: Olha Stefanishyna addressed all of these questions in her first interview since the appointment.
"I'm first and foremost the Deputy PM for European Integration"
Are you primarily the Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration or the Minister of Justice? Which position is your main role?
Of course, I am first and foremost the Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration. The main task is Ukraine's accession to the EU. And this will also guide my work as a minister.
The core of our EU accession negotiations revolves around tasks in the areas of fundamental rights and the rule of law. That is the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice. The idea of the position change came about back in 2023 when we were preparing for the EU decision to open accession negotiations, and I was discussing how to strengthen my capacity as Deputy Prime Minister with the Prime Minister and the President.
At the same time, there were discussions going on about downsizing the government. As a result, it became clear that as Deputy Prime Minister, I should also head one of the existing ministries. And since my job is to align Ukraine's legislation with EU law, we came up with the idea of the Ministry of Justice.
What are the advantages of this? Why does the Deputy Prime Minister also need to be a minister? Firstly, this is about administrative resources.
The workload during the EU accession process will be enormous! There are thousands of pieces of the acquis communautaire (the entire body of EU law) that we are obliged to implement. Secondly, it is the Ministry of Justice that shapes the state's legal policy.
The Ministry of Justice will be restructured. There will be a special deputy and a department responsible for aligning Ukraine's legislation with EU law. The existing Government Office for the Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration will not be merged with the Justice Ministry.
It will continue its work here in the Cabinet of Ministers building, and its status will remain unchanged. The coordinating function is very important and will remain under my supervision as Deputy Prime Minister. Won't this hinder your work on EU accession?
After all, the Justice Ministry does a large amount of work that has nothing to do with European integration. This question has been raised, of course. But I have a plan and a vision of how to organise this work properly.
The Justice Ministry has deputies, and the delegation of responsibilities will be a priority.
You also lead Ukraine's delegation in the EU membership negotiations. That's another huge workload. Some people think it will require you to practically live in Brussels.
The accession negotiations are the priority. I completely agree with that. However, the Covid-19 pandemic and the war have shifted a lot of our work online.
Also, both we and the European Commission understand that by the time we arrive for in-person negotiations, 90% of the issues should already have been resolved through online communication managed from Kyiv.
"It's important to me that all the negotiation chapters are opened"
By the way, what updates can we expect soon regarding the EU accession talks? The next update will be the European Commission's enlargement report, which will be ready in October, though the exact date of its release is unknown.
This report will be a snapshot - an assessment of our work over the past year. I call it a "snapshot of statehood".
Based on this report, we will establish the basis of our negotiating position with the EU in each area. By the end of the year, we must complete all the work related to the Fundamentals cluster so that we are ready to open negotiations in this area. I believe that in the first half of 2025, we will also be able to open negotiations on the Internal Market cluster.
This section is like a "micro-constitution" of membership, covering the key issues we need to address as quickly as possible. Which chapters within these clusters do we propose to open first? Under the new EU enlargement methodology, when a cluster is opened, all chapters within that cluster are automatically opened.
The first cluster to be opened will be the Fundamentals [chapters: Judiciary and Fundamental Rights; Justice, Freedom and Security; Public Procurement; Statistics; Financial Control]. The EU makes the decision to open it or sets preconditions for opening, which could relate to any area within this cluster. We are preparing to open the Internal Market cluster at the same time [chapters: Free Movement of Goods; Freedom of Movement for Workers; Right of Establishment and Freedom of Services; Free Movement of Capital; Company Law; Intellectual Property Law; Competition Policy; Financial Services; Consumer and Health Protection].
This forms the basis for negotiations on the other chapters. But we are also preparing for negotiations in further sectors, such as energy and transport. It is important to me that all the negotiation chapters should be opened.
Only the opening of all the chapters will give us a clear understanding of the full scope of obligations and the "homework" we need to organise within the country. Ukraine's EU accession will also require the Constitution of Ukraine to be amended, because there are issues such as the application of rulings of the European Court of Justice and the implementation of those EU regulations which will become directly applicable in Ukraine. We will be introducing a supranational legal system.
These constitutional changes won't come into effect until Ukraine joins the EU, but we must begin preparing for this now.
"My goal is to erase the false perception of Ukraine in the EU"
What gives you confidence that there won't be obstacles like a veto from Hungary on the way to EU membership? We have no guarantees here. These difficulties will definitely arise - 100%.
Moreover, they will arise constantly and regularly. That's just how the EU functions. Similar issues also occur between EU member states.
We understand that almost every quarter, we will need the unity of 27 EU member states in order to take various steps in our accession negotiations, whether it's opening clusters, approving reports, closing certain chapters or moving to the next stage.
This is becoming our new normal. That's why the president has set the task of building strong relationships with our neighbours. And I'd like to emphasise that this isn't just about Hungary.
When it comes to decisions requiring a consensus, we sometimes find that our circle of friends is wider than we expected, and the circle of sceptics is also wider than we expected. Since this is becoming our new normal, we'll need to build up our ability not to be disheartened. We often count on friendly attitudes toward Ukraine - especially during wartime - but in practice, our partners' own interests can outweigh friendship.
What is your goal? What does the Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister dream about? I dream about getting some sleep (she laughs).
But that's a far-off dream :) Anything more tangible? I'm absolutely convinced that this new phase of rebooting the government, combining my role as Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister, will be a success. I see tremendous value in it.
There's a French word - ambiance. I believe that my work in this role will finally help erase the atmosphere of false, mistaken perceptions of our country as one of inferior, corrupt and insecure officials. We've achieved so much in recent years.
We need to do even more to leave behind this narrative that our country has unjustly been stuck with due to many objective circumstances. I see it as my great mission in this role to turn this page for our nation. Sergiy Sydorenko,
European Pravda, editor
Translated by Daria Meshcheriakova
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