Text by: Dariusz Szymczycha, Vice President of the Polish-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce

On 23 June 2022, Ukraine received the status of a candidate country of the European Union. This historic event took place at the end of the 120th day of Russia’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine. The European Union is not a party to this military confrontation, but it is on Ukraine’s side.

The war and its humanitarian and economic consequences undoubtedly hastened this decision. However, this is not a gesture designed to ‘wipe away tears’ and lift the spirits of the heroic defenders of Europe’s eastern borders. This is a signal to the world that the 27 member states of the European Union believe in an independent, sovereign Ukraine and will help Ukraine on its path to membership. The future of the EU and Ukraine is a common future.

We should not stop on an important political declaration. New concrete EU projects are needed that, on the one hand, will help Ukraine survive the difficult times of war and, on the other hand, bring Ukraine closer to EU standards.

Unlike in previous enlargements, the European Commission should not limit itself to verifying the implementation of the acquis communautaire by a candidate country. A war-torn state has never run for the EU. This situation requires a new approach to the candidate period and more active participation of EU institutions.

Support for Ukraine’s reconstruction must be in line with the ideas of the EU Green Deal. When solving the existing problems of Ukrainian grain exports, it is necessary to include Ukraine in European transport networks. Heavily dependent on Russian gas and oil, Europe is facing energy problems that show the need to develop an energy union, that is, to build interconnectors, hydrocarbon and energy storage facilities, help each other in need and develop renewable energy. After all, renewable energy means independence, both energy independence and state one in the current context. The de-oligarchisation of the Ukrainian economy is the result of the aggressor’s destruction of large industrial enterprises, but this does not mean that Ukraine does not need industry, investment, and the strengthening of the SME sector. This is a task for the reconstruction as well as for completing the accession.

Ukraine needs to strengthen its civil society, and an important impetus for this was the decentralisation of power with the support of local self-governments. Today, in wartime, most of the newly elected mayors have shown themselves to be very capable and proved that local leaders strengthen Ukraine’s defence capabilities.

The 120th day of Russian aggression is also the first day of the EU candidacy period. I wish Ukraine to ascend to the European Union as soon as possible, but above all, to see the end to the war as soon as possible.