Ukraine's EU accession delays benefit some local businesses, says expert

The Executive Director of the International Renaissance Foundation, Oleksandr Sushko, mentioned that some Ukrainian businesses are interested in delaying Ukraine's accession to the EU

Sushko stated in an interview on the Espreso TV channel.

 "The European Commission's report on aligning Ukrainian legislation with European standards shows that, in reality, a lot still needs to be done. In fact, we have done more in terms of laws than what is yet to be done. This mostly concerns technical criteria for compliance with European regulations."

He added, "This applies to the agricultural sector, transport, and energy – there are still many issues where we are not meeting European standards. Of course, this needs to be worked on. Sometimes it is easier to implement in areas where there is no serious opposition from powerful players. But there are sectors where large entities are interested in delaying the implementation of certain standards, and they want to drag out the process as long as possible. This is where we are seeing delays."

Sushko continued, explaining that some players in Ukraine are interested in prolonging the process of joining the EU. "They are comfortable remaining outside of European law within their business strategies because they are not obliged to follow all the norms and standards at this stage. Therefore, this path is not without its internal and external problems, especially considering the resistance from some EU countries that are not very friendly toward us."

Some businesses are interested in Ukraine staying outside the European Union because this way, they don’t need to comply with certain standards and norms. These relate to labor law, ecology, and many production and service standards.

"Some of these reforms are quite expensive to implement, and thus may lead to losses for certain businesses. While they do not loudly oppose the general idea of European integration, they suggest, 'Let’s not rush, let’s selectively approach the process, choosing what we need and what we don’t.' They imagine European integration as a menu from which you can select some things and leave others. They talk about 'European integration on our terms.' These are illusions, of course. But we will see this because, the closer we get to the goal, the louder the voices of those who are not interested in this process will be."

Sushko concluded, "This is what happens in any country joining the EU, especially those with a diversified economy and many large players, each with their own interests."

• Elizabeth Kornfeind, the Director-General for European and Economic Affairs, listed the benefits that will become available to Ukraine once it joins the EU.