We spoke with Parliamentarian and President of the Greens in the European Parliament, Rebecca Harms, about the future of Ukraine after the parliamentary elections, the external challenges the country is facing, and the responsibilities the EU has towards Ukraine.
hbs: You recently returned from an OSCE observer mission in Ukraine to oversee the parliamentary elections. How do you assess the preliminary outcome of the parliamentary election? How confident are you that the winning parties will manage to address the many challenges Ukraine is facing?
Rebecca Harms: The election outcome shows that Ukrainian voters responded in a very responsible way. They balanced the power of President Poroshenko by supporting Mr. Yatsenyuk, the current Prime Minister of Ukraine. I think that Mr. Poroshenko and Mr. Yatsenyuk are able, if they are willing,to change Ukraine and to lead a reform process. It is also good that Ukrainian voters gave a chance to new political forces such as the party called Samopomich or “self-help”. The party mainly represents Euromaidan activists and civil society from all parts of Ukraine. The fact that they became the third power in the new parliament is a very good result of the elections. Voters also did not support extreme right candidates. The party of Svoboda is no longer in parliament and the right wing populist Mr. Lyashko, known as the “man with the fork”, is much weaker than everybody thought, as he received only 7 percent of Ukrainian votes. Overall I would say the result is politically wise and promising.In brief I would say the result is pro- Ukrainian, pro-democracy and very much pro- European. It also once more reminds the European Union to its long-standing promises given to Ukraine.
Let’s discuss these promises for a moment. You stated last week at a public event at Brookings that the EU has a responsibility to live up to its promise to support Ukraine in its reforms. In your assessment, has the expectation in Ukraine towards the EU changed since the outbreak of the current crisis?
The majority of Ukrainians have understood that the reforms cannot be made by the European Union. Ukrainians have to carry the burden of a reform process in all areas, but they hope -and they are right to do so -that they will get financial support and real assistance from the European Union. Since the 1990s the EU has gained experiences with the transformation process of countries that had been under influence of the Soviet Union or were part of the Soviet Union. These experiences will matter a lot for the Ukrainian reform process now. Furthermore, the Ukrainians expect to receive support, mainly from the Europeans, against the destabilization strategy of Mr. Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, who obviously tries to create obstacles in these reform processes and Ukraine’s way towards Europe.
In your view, should the Eastern Partnership be viewed as an alternative or as a bridge towards EU membership? Should Ukraine be considered for full EU membership in the foreseeable future?
Ukrainians have been in favor of EU membership for a long time now and the number of Ukrainians who support EU membership is growing.However, everybody knows the country is not ready for this at the moment. I don’t want to continue with wrong promises such as saying: “O.K., in 2020 you will be member of the European Union”. I rather prefer to commit myself and the European Union to help Ukraine in the reform process. If there is one thing that can assure Ukraine’s future EU membership, it is a successful reform of the country. Generally speaking it is very clear: Based on the EU treaty, the EU is not a closed shop.
In how far does the current crisis in Ukraine threaten the European project itself rather than merely the political order beyond its borders?
The EU has to realize that we do not have a problem you can call a “Ukrainian crisis”. We have a crisis because Russia decided not to accept the peace order in Europe any longer and because it not only decided to annex the Crimean Peninsula but also to actively support separatists in the Donbas region in the East of Ukraine. This is not only a threat against Ukraine, this is threatening the European Union because although it is an aggression that is taking place in Ukraine, it is meant as a threat to all other countries in the region that would like to have a close association with the European Union or that decide in favor of European reforms instead of the Russian way of ruling a country.
Experts say that in order to have more leverage against Russia, Europe should become more independent from the Russian energy sector. What are the necessary steps Europe should take in order to lessen its energy dependence on Russia?
From my point of view, the right direction to go to is what we, the Green party, proposed: mitigating the effects of climate change and escaping financial burdens that result from high prices for oil and gas imports. Being energy-efficient, investing in renewable energies and an adequate infrastructure are the answers to several challenges- such as climate change, the growing dependence on very expensive imports and in part also to the economic crisis. Investment in not only industrial and economic innovation, but also putting a stronger focus on investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy would solve many issues at once.
To what extent is the current crisis in Ukraine going to fundamentally influence Europe’s future relationship with Russia?
As I said earlier, this is not a war against Ukraine, but it’s an aggression against the values of the European Union and against Human Rights and the Rule of Law as such, because Ukraine chose in favor of these principles. Maybe it is even a little bit too short cut to say it is an attack against the European Union because the concepts of the rule of law and human rights are not European concepts. They are long-standing global concepts.