EU’S LARGEMENT TOWARDS THE EASTERN PARTNERSHIP. THE INTEGRATION OF UKRAINE IN THE MIDST OF THE CRISIS
EU’S LARGEMENT TOWARDS THE EASTERN PARTNERSHIP. THE INTEGRATION OF UKRAINE IN THE MIDST OF THE CRISIS

Summary/Abstract: After the fall of the communist regimes, the former Eastern bloc countries stated that they wanted to join the European Community. However, the legacy of Soviet socio-economic systems and structures made it difficult for the countries of Eastern Europe to integrate faster into the Community. Nevertheless, the accession of the former communist states, in the opinion of former European Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn, has served as an anchor for stability and democracy and an engine of personal freedom and economic dynamism in Europe. The enlargement process has made a positive contribution to narrowing the gap between East and West in terms of democracy, although progress among post-communist countries is still lower than in "Western European" states. In the context of the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian troops and the global crisis that arose from this event, the integration of Ukraine into the European Union seems more palpable than ever. This paper tries to explain the relationship between the EU and Ukraine since the latter managed to gain its independence from Russia and became part of the Eastern Partnership and to come up with a possible scenario of how the enlargement process will take place from here onwards for the countries that are on the Russian line of fire.

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